The Magic of You
by ChloeSC
Summary: What happens when Lily returns after seven years with the sole purpose of handing James divorce papers....is it too late?
1. Chapter 1

_Authors Note: This is just a little one-shot that I based off a scene from Sweet Home Alabama. I was watching it and got inspired. If you like it, I'll continue with it and see where it goes. Let me know...Read and Review. I promise I'll update my other stories soon, but I've been suffering from serious writers block lately.   
_

Lily Evans stood outside of a small London flat in the pouring rain. She had traveled across an ocean to get here and now that she was, she was beginning to regret the trip. It had been seven years since she last set foot in England and as far as she was concerned, it wasn't long enough. Her clothes and hair were damp and she clutched a large envelope to her chest as she gathered up the courage to ring the doorbell. She decided that it was rather like removing a band aid, the quicker it was done, the less painful it would be. So she mustered up the courage and pressed her freezing finger on the tiny bell. She held her breath as she waited for someone to open it, and the amount of time that passed seemed interminable. Finally a tall shaggy haired man flung open the door.

"Do you know what bloody time it is, I'd just gotten to sleep an hour ago," the obviously annoyed man growled.

"You always were so pleasant in the morning Sirius," Lily said as she looked up at him with a slight smile playing on her lips.

Sirius Black stared at the woman before him as if he'd just seen a ghost. He must be dreaming, he thought as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. But there she was in flesh and blood, Lily Evans. She looked different, he thought. It might be her short hair that she'd always worn long when he remembered her. She was dressed more stylishly, although he always pictured her in her Hogwarts robs.

"Bloody hell," Sirius said as he continued to stare at her in amazement. "Hell must have frozen over, because I never thought I'd see you back here."

He pulled her into a gigantic bear like hug that seemed to crush almost every bone in her body.

"I'm not back Sirius," Lily countered.

"Will you listen to that sassy American attitude?" Course your back, you just don't know it yet," Sirius replied as continued to keep his arm around her shoulders.

Lily groaned. She wanted to make this visit as quick as possible. This wasn't her life anymore and it hadn't been for quite a while. She didn't want to run the risk of getting sucked back in.

"Where is he Sirius? I've got a portkey to catch in about an hour," Lily said.

All of a sudden Sirius looked extremely sad. He and Lily had been best friends at one point in their lives. It had been painful when she left, although he never admitted to anyone. He wasn't ready to lose her again. However, in his usual carefree way, he merely brushed aside the time limit she had set on her visit.

"James is at work Lils and isn't going to be back for a while, so that gives you plenty of time to catch up with your old friend Padfoot," Sirius said with a grin from ear to ear.

Lily knew that it would be futile to resist Sirius' attempts to stall her as it would only encourage him. Instead she resigned herself to having a cup of tea at the kitchen table. She walked in the house that Sirius and James inhabited and took in the surroundings. It was slightly unkempt, much like the both boys appearances. The kitchen housed dirty dishes and a table littered with old daily prophets and other odds and ends. Lily took a seat as Sirius attempted to clean up. Finally he delivered her a cup of tea and took a seat next to her.

"So what got you to cross the pond Lils?" Sirius asked.

Lily knew Sirius was never one to beat around the bush. She was still clutching the large envelope she had brought with her and Sirius was eyeing it warily. Lily attempted to stall.

"It's obvious isn't it? I couldn't deny my feelings anymore. I've come to proclaim my love for you Sirius," Lily joked.

Sirius barked with laughter. He was glad living in America hadn't made Lily lose her sense of humor.

"I've missed you Lily," Sirius said.

The spent the rest of the afternoon catching up. Lily told Sirius about her life in the states, about her job as a journalist, and even gave the impression that she was happy. For his part, Sirius filled Lily in on the battle against Voldemort. He described the long hours and hard work he put in as an Auror. He told her about Remus and Kate's wedding. Lily and Kate had been best friends at Hogwarts, but when Lily moved to America they lost touch. She lost touch with all of her friends. She figured it was for the best. Much to her surprise, she learned that Sirius was dating her other best friend Gabriella and Sirius swore that she was the biggest pain in his ass.

"You and Gabby?" Lily said with shock. "I never thought you'd win her over."

Sirius and Gabby fought constantly throughout Hogwarts and were extremely competitive with each other. Sure they had snogged a few times, but Lily never thought anything would come of it. Gabby always swore that cows would have to fly before she dated Sirius.

"Bite your tongue, she was the one who had to convince me," Sirius said, but he knew it wasn't the truth.

Notably absent from Sirius' stories was James, and Lily wasn't going to ask. However, she knew that he couldn't be avoided forever when she heard a loud pop come from the living room.

"Prongs his home," Sirius said and flounced off to greet his best friend despite Lily's attempts to refrain him.

"James you'll never guess what I've got in the kitchen," Sirius yelled through the door.

"Good god I hope it isn't alive, god knows that place needs a good cleaning," James shouted back.

And then he was there, standing in front of her. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were wrinkled. He looked as if he hadn't slept in a week. And he was just staring at her.

"Why don't I leave you two to talk," Sirius said expertly as he slipped out of the room.

He knew the signs when Lily and James were about to have a big row, and he could tell this one was going to be huge. He wanted to escape the crossfire. Lily and James were left alone as he continued to take in the shock of seeing her after seven years.

"It's been a long time," Lily offered.

"Not long enough," James said as he immediately turned around and left the room.

Lily remembered why James drove her so crazy. She got up and followed him into the living room.

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm here?" Lily pressed.

"To profess your love for Sirius?" James replied cheekily.

She hated the way James never took anything seriously. He always had a quick quip or a joke for everything. It drove her nuts.

"I've come to give you these. So stop being a stubborn ass and just sign them. This has gone on for long enough," she threw the envelope she had been holding them at him.

James grabbed the envelope and took a look at its contents. They were divorce papers. He suddenly became incensed.

"You come waltzing in here after seven years without so much as 'remember me James, your wife,' or 'hey honey looking good' and you expect me to sign these?" James spat.

"You expect me tell you that you look good. Ever heard of the scourgify charm?" Lily replied sarcastically.

James looked at her with incredulity. He wanted to curse her into oblivion.

"Do they laugh at that in America or wherever you've been," James said, trying to hide the hurt in his voice.

"You knew where I was, and don't pretend you missed me," Lily said.

James walked towards her with a menacing look on his face.

"I missed you alright, but at this range my aim is bound to improve," James threatened.

Lily looked into his hazel eyes that she used to know so well and felt defeated.

"Can you just sign the papers and I'll be gone," Lily said.

James stared at her hard. It really galled him that she had the audacity to show up and demand a divorce after seven years of silence.

"No I don't think I will," James said and turned around to head up the stairs.

Lily couldn't let him go, she'd never get him to sign the papers if she let him off now.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lily screeched.

"Leaving, you've done it, you should recognize the gesture," James replied and then stomped up the stairs to his bedroom.

He threw open the door and it slammed against the wall. He took the papers that were in his hand and threw them against the wall and stomped around a bit.

"Glad to see you haven't lost that famous temper of yours," Lily said as she watched him curse a few things with his wand.

"How'd you get in here?" James asked, even more furious that she had witnessed his outburst.

"Apparated," Lily replied casually.

James stared at her hard.

"Get out," he bellowed.

"Not until you sign the bloody papers," Lily countered.

"No!" James shouted.

Lily advanced on him with venom in her green eyes.

"You stubborn ass, you won't sign the papers just because I've asked you to," Lily shouted.

"No, I won't sign them because you've turned into some hoity toity American bitch," James spat.

And then he picked Lily, threw her over his shoulder and plopped her down in the hallway outside his room. He slammed the door behind her and used every locking charm she could think of to keep her out.

She shouted and ranted and raved for being so properly man handled.

"James Potter, you arrogant toe rag, sign those papers or you'll rue the day," she said as she pounded on the door.

However, her cries were met with silence. It was at this point that Sirius came out of his room with eyes as wide as saucers.

"You guys are still married?" he asked, astonished at this recent development.

"Unfortunately yes," Lily said as she slumped against James' door. "Despite the fact that I'm engaged to another man."

This she shouted so would hopefully hear it and let it get through his thick skull that things were over. Sirius just stared at her harder, and her declaration had its intended effect. James opened his door and looked at her as an expression of stone crossed his face.

"You're what?" Sirius asked, just to clear up any confusion on the subject.

"Engaged," Lily said and then she stuck out her hand so they could see the ring.

James looked at her as if he had just been hit with a stunner. Sirius just stood there with his mouth hanging open, too shocked to say anything.

"Well aren't either of you going to say something?" Lily said.

She felt bad for the way she had announced it. She had meant to do it more subtly, but with James, nothing was ever subtle. He was just so damn provoking. She looked at him and saw that what she had said hurt him. What had he expected? That'd she'd pine for him for the rest of her life. No, she'd moved on, and he should too.

"Congratulations Lily, I hope he makes you happy," was all James said and then retreated back into his bedroom and closed the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**_I decided to see where this story takes me . It won't be exactly like Sweet Home Alabama, there will be some twists and differences to make it original. Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome. I just have tons of ideas for this story. I don't think it'll be a long one, but we'll have to see._**

Lily sat outside of James' door staring at her watch, realizing that any effort to make her portkey would be fruitless if she didn't have the papers signed. She cursed James again, and cursed herself for being stupid enough to think this would have been easy. When it came to her and James, nothing was easy.

With Jack, everything was simple. He was kind and gentle and she knew he loved her. On their first date, he'd taken her for a picnic in central park. Her first date with James involved sneaking out of Hogwarts and then getting attacked by death eaters and tortured with the Cruciatus Curse. Yes, James and Jack were as different as night and day. James was immature and stubborn, while Jack was considerate and did everything in his power to make Lily happy. She smiled thinking about him.

"He won't be coming out anytime soon," Sirius said as he noticed Lily was still sitting outside of James' door.

"He has to come out sooner or later, he's driven by his stomach and he'll get hungry," Lily said.

"You're right, but considering he just apparated to Remus and Kate's place for dinner, I think you'll be waiting for quite some time," Sirius said with a chuckle.

Lily furrowed her brow in frustration. Drat James Potter for running away from her. She should have charmed his bedroom to prevent apparition. It was a difficult spell, but she could have easily done it if she'd been using her head. However, James always did rile her up so she could never think logically around him.

"Right, well I suppose we'll just have to go to Remus and Kate's," Lily said.

Sirius stared at her.

"No way, James will likely kill me if I show up with you," Sirius said.

Lily pleaded and cajoled him and when that didn't work, she threatened with a variety of hexes and jinxes. Finally, just to shut her up, Sirius agreed.

"But if James asked, you used the damn imperious curse on me," Sirius said, trying to come up with the best defense he could think of.

With a blink of an eye and a quick tugging feeling at the belly button, Sirius and Lily arrived in Remus and Kate's living room. It was quite cozy with a roaring fire in the fire place.

"Good thing we didn't floo here," Lily joked, but Sirius didn't have time to answer before James hurled a curse in his direction.

James started advancing on him with a menacing look on his face.

"Whose side are you one Padfoot," he growled.

"Yours," Sirius said nonchalantly, knowing perfectly well that James would never hurt him.

However, before James had the chance to respond, Gabby stepped in.

"James, don't hurt him, his face is the only thing he has," Gabby said as she stepped in front of Sirius.

Sirius protested, saying that he had more than looks and proceeded to ramble off a long list of other amiable traits, but Gabby wasn't listening after she registered who was standing behind him.

"Actually, my mistake. James, hex him into oblivion," Gabby said and then turned around and headed towards the kitchen.

"My pleasure," James said.

Lily, who was extremely taken aback by the cold reception she had just received from Gabby, ran off after her.

She burst into the kitchen to find Gabby whispering something to Kate, who looked at her with confusion. The two girls who Lily used to consider her best friends, continued to stare at her obviously trying to force an explanation from her. Suddenly, Lily regretted her hasty decision to invade this dinner party. Obviously, his disappearing act warranted a rather cold reception.

"I'm sorry, I can explain," Lily said.

Gabby laughed. Lily knew Kate would forgive her because it wasn't in her nature to hold grudges or be obstinate, but Gabby would be harder to win over.

"Explain why you disappeared and didn't contact us for seven years?" Gabby said incredulously. "Go ahead; I'm sure it'll be a whopper of a story."

"I had my reasons," Lily shot back.

"I'm sure you do. I'm also sure that they are utter bullocks," Gabby replied.

"The door swings both ways, you could have contacted me," Lily replied.

"Right, when I didn't have a bloody clue where you were," Gabby said. "You missed everything Lily, so don't expect us to throw a party in your honor to welcome your return."

"I wasn't expecting a party," Lily said, feeling slightly defeated once again.

At this point Kate decided to step in. She approached Lily and gave her a hug.

"It's good to see you," she whispered.

"Traitor," Gabby muttered.

"So what brought you back?" Kate asked as she poured Lily a glass of wine.

Lily reluctantly lifted her hand to show the diamond ring on her finger.

"Bloody hell, that thing is the size of a hippogriff," Gabby said as she looked at Lily's hand.

"Oh Lily, it's beautiful," Kate said, in awe of the beautiful gem.

"Who's the lucky bloke?" Gabby asked. "Not that I care or anything," she added.

"His name is Jack Gage and he's a lawyer from New York," Lily said proudly.

"That's a muggle name if I've ever heard one," Gabby grouched.

It was true, Jack was a muggle and he didn't know that Lily was a witch. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell him, she did. She just wasn't sure of the best way to go about it. She felt bad about keeping secrets from him, but she justified her deception by convincing herself that she wasn't part of the magical world anymore.

"Yes, he's a muggle, but it doesn't matter to me," Lily said defensively.

"Does he know you're a witch?" Kate asked.

"Yes," Lily lied.

"Are you still married to James?" Gabby asked.

"Yes," Lily replied.

"Isn't that a bit of a problem," Gabby asked.

"Yes," Lily said.

"So that's why you're here. You are trying to get James to divorce you," Gabby said.

"Yes, and as soon as he signs the papers, I'll be taking the first portkey off this bloody island," Lily said.

Lily almost felt ashamed of her motives for returning. They weren't to reconnect with old friends or make amends, but rather they were selfish, and for that Lily felt horrible.

"Silly me, I thought maybe you were back to see us," Kate said.

Lily knew exactly what her friends were doing. They were master manipulators and their attempts to make her feel guilt were working.

"Don't start that Kate, I know what you are trying to do," Lily pleaded.

"You didn't even come to my wedding," Kate pressed, her eyes looking sadder every minute.

"You aren't going to convince me to stay," Lily said stubbornly.

"Oh you'll stay, because James Potter will never sign those papers of yours, for the simple reason that it'd make you too bloody pleased," Gabby argued.

Lily had been afraid of this. James loved to be contrary. He'd never cared what she wanted or what would make her happy. She just hoped it wouldn't take too long for him to come to his senses.

"Why won't he? It's not like he hasn't moved on. It's been seven years," Lily said, hoping her friends might provide some answers for her.

Kate looked as if she was about to say something, but a sharp look from Gabby made her refrain from doing so. Instead her friends answered her question with their silence.

"Fine, if he wants a wife, I'll give him a wife," Lily said, as a plan began to form in her head.

"Lily, what do you mean to do?" Kate asked, hoping that no furniture in her house would be broken.

Lily and James' rows were famous for causing enormous amounts of upheaval.

"Nothing, but give him what he deserves," Lily said.

"Fine, but can your evil plan to torture James please wait until tomorrow? It would be so lovely to have a peaceful, friendly dinner," Kate pleaded.

Lily conceded to start her mayhem tomorrow to please Kate, and the girls decided it was time to re-join everyone for dinner. By the time they walked back out into the living room, James, Sirius, and Remus were enjoying a few beers and avidly discussing quidditch.

"Some things never change," Lily said to herself.

"Remus, I thought you said you'd set the table," Kate said as she looked at her dinning room table without any plates or silverware on it.

Remus quickly rectified the situation with the wave of his wand, and Kate chastised him for being so careless with her mother's dishes. Soon, the six of them were sitting down to dinner.

"I'm not sitting next to her," James whined as he saw the only place left was next to Lily.

"Why, afraid I'll bite?" Lily asked.

"No, just afraid some of that rude American attitude you have picked up is contagious," James replied.

"As if you aren't rude yourself," Lily retorted.

"I don't bust in on other peoples' dinner parties uninvited," James supplied.

"I wouldn't have had to if you'd just do what I ask," Lily said.

"No," James said.

Their friends watched this exchange, ready for curses to start flying like they did back at Hogwarts before Lily and James started dating. Kate quickly intervened.

"That's enough! James go sit by Remus, and I'll sit next to Lily and if either of you starts at it again, you'll both regret it," Kate said, standing in between them, hoping to prevent any slip of the wand either might suffer from.

James grumbled slightly and scowled at Kate for her interference.

"Don't look at her like that, you're the one who refuses to act civilized," Lily said as she watched James' expression blacken.

"Lily, stop it," Kate said as she rounded on her friend with determination in her eyes.

The meal started off in silence, nobody wanting to set James or Lily off. Lily wanted to say something about how much she had missed everyone, but decided anything she would say would sound insincere and James would undoubtedly make a cutting remark at her expense. Thankfully it was Remus who broke the silence.

"Anyone think Dumbledore looked a little tired at the Order meeting last week?" Remus asked.

Everyone glared at him for mentioning the Order in Lily's presence. He turned slightly red; embarrassed that he'd made such an error. Lily quickly came to his defense.

"Honestly, you all don't need to give Remus the death glare, it's not like I was never a member of the Order. He didn't say anything I don't already know," Lily said diplomatically.

"Well you aren't a member anymore and it shouldn't be discussed in the presence of non-members," James said cuttingly.

"Are you saying you don't trust me," Lily said, slightly offended at James' comment.

"I'm saying we haven't seen you for seven years and who knows who you've been cavorting with," James replied testily.

Both Gabby and Kate shot him a warning look, but James paid no attention.

"Oh that's rich. Yes I'm secretly a Voldemort spy sent her to infiltrate your group and learn your secrets," Lily countered.

"It would explain why you just decided to show up," James said.

"You know why I came back," Lily said in a low tone, suggesting that she was on the verge of erupting with rage.

"Perhaps it's just a convenient excuse, kill two birds with one stone," James said.

Everyone knew that James was only saying these things to get a rise out of Lily. Despite her absence, she would always be loyal and would die before joining Voldemort. He'd killed her parents at her wedding after all.

"Of course I'd be working for the wizard who killed my parents, that makes perfect sense," Lily said quietly.

James stiffened slightly, knowing that he had gone too far. He may be mad at Lily, but that didn't justify practically calling her a death eater. He knew first hand how devastated she'd been when they died and she wasn't the same after it happened. She never said it, but he knew she blamed him for their deaths. It was the reason she'd left him and the wizarding world behind.

"And just in case you're curious, I am still a member of the Order. Dumbledore uses me as a liaison with the American wizarding community, so you can stop thinking you are the only one fighting Voldemort in this room," Lily said.

James smiled slightly after learning that Lily still had some fight in her. He'd be disappointed in her if she didn't.

"I never said that," James said testily.

"No, but it's what you and your gigantic ego think," Lily replied.

It was at this point that Gabby placed silencing charms on both participants in the war of words. Both James and Lily shot her angry looks, but she just said that she wouldn't remove the charms until the both promised to act like grown-ups. Everyone was appreciative of the silence and continued to eat their dinners in peace. After dinner, Sirius had the idea of gluing each combatant to their seats so they couldn't move or speak and everyone agreed that was a great idea. So Remus, Kate, Sirius and Gabby retreated to the living room to enjoy a bottle of wine and talk, but Lily and James were stuck at the dinner table unable to talk to each other or anyone else.

"Do you think that's such a good idea, leaving them to their own devices? They can still use their hands and therefore their wands," Kate said, still concerned about her furniture.

"It'll be good for them to be stuck with each other," Gabby said.

In the dining room, James and Lily stared at each other, resigned to their fates. Lily squirmed trying to release the bonds that kept her stuck to the chair. She used every non-verbal spell she could think of, but nothing worked. She watched as James sat leisurely in his chair eyeing her with amusement. Finally she summoned a peace of paper and a quill from a drawer in the kitchen. She wrote hastily on it.

"Any ideas for getting out of these chairs?" she wrote and shoved it toward James.

He read it with one eyebrow quirked in amusement that she'd ask for his help.

"When you squirm around it only seals the bond tighter so stop moving around for one," he wrote back and sent it back to her.

She tried not to be offended at the superior tone he was taking in his note. She chuckled slightly and wrote a response.

"Since we are stuck here and you now have a quill, how about you sign the bloody papers and I promise to leave you alone."

He read this and a frown formed on his handsome face.

"You must really love this git to be in such a rush to marry him."

Lily read his comment and didn't know quite how to respond.

"I'm not in a rush, I just want you to sign the papers so I can move on."

James read this with interest. He had to find out if she really was in love someone else.

"You didn't answer the question. Answer it and I'll sign the bloody papers."

Her stomach jumped as she read the response. If this was his price, then she'd gladly pay. However, she soon realized what he was doing and became angry again.

"It's none of your damn business," she wrote back.

"Bloody well is, you are my sodding wife so I think it's my business if you are in love with someone else."

"I'm not your wife James, I'm just the first girl who jumped on the back of your broom stick."

James' face fell. It hurt him to know that she treated their relationship with unimportance. He had loved her to distraction and she was willing to attribute it to a school girl romance.

"Keep telling yourself that, before you there were lots of other girls and after you there were lots more."

"I'm sure there were," Lily wrote back and then the notes stopped.

They remained sitting in silence not writing or saying a word to each other. Lily tried hard not to let the tears that were forming in her eyes slide down her cheeks. She knew James was putting up a wall to protect himself, but it hurt her just the same. She wanted desperately to get back to New York and her life. Finally, around midnight, Gabby came back into the room and removed the charms and when she did James and Lily continued not to say anything.

"Sorry for interrupting the party," Lily apologized. "It won't happen again."

She started to head for the door, but Gabby stopped her.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I probably should go find a hotel room for the night. Thought I might try the Leaky Cauldron," Lily said.

Everyone looked at each other.

"You aren't going anywhere, you just got back. You can come and stay with me," Gabby said.

Lily looked at her to make sure she really meant it, but Gabby rarely said things she didn't mean.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

"Don't be dense Lily, of course it's alright," Gabby said and put her arm around her friend's shoulder.

"Traitor," James mumbled.

If his friends accepted her back into the fold that would mean she would be around more and she would have more chances to nag him about signing the divorce papers. He grumbled a thank you to Kate for a lovely dinner and quickly apparated back to his flat. Sirius gave Gabby a quick kiss on the cheek and followed.

Lily hugged both Kate and Remus goodbye and promised to come over for coffee the next day, then the two girls apparated back to Gabby's flat.

Later that night, James sat in the living room with a glass of fire whiskey in his hand. Sirius saw the light on downstairs and went to check on his mate. He poured a glass for himself and took a seat on the couch.

"Why don't you just sign the papers?" Sirius asked.

"Because she wants me to," James replied as he took another sip of his drink.

"That's bullocks. I'm your best mate, you can't hide anything from me," Sirius said as he took a sip of his drink.

James continued to stare into the fire, deep in thought. He'd imagined what he would do if he saw Lily again millions of times, but now that she was here in the flesh and blood, and engaged to another bloke, which changed the situation entirely. He hadn't meant to be so boorish towards her, he just couldn't help it.

"I don't want to talk about it Sirius," James said evenly.

"Look James, you've been holding on to Lily for seven years. Either stop fighting with her and win her back or move on," Sirius said.

"You think I'm still hung up on Evans?" James asked, with a tone that suggested he thought Sirius' suggestion was ludicrous.

Sirius looked at James with confusion. His best friend had been in love with Lily since he was eleven years old and he knew the same was still true today.

"I know you James and you'll be in love with her until the day you die and probably after that as well. So don't play stupid," Sirius said.

"Lily and I haven't been in love for a long time," James mumbled.

"Yeah and its made you a miserable old grumpy git so I suggest you speed the process along and use that winning smile and any charm you have left to convince her to give it another go so I don't have to keep looking at your sad sorry mug," Sirius said bluntly.

"Even if I was interested, which I'm not, she's engaged to another bloke," James said.

"She's your bloody wife and since when has something as trivial as an American fiancé stopped you before? You aren't afraid of a little challenge are you" Sirius challenged.

"Come off it Sirius, Lily and I are over and we both want it that way," James said. "I'll make her sweat it out another day or two just because its fun to rile her up, but then I'll sign the bloody papers and it'll be done."

She wasn't his anymore. They'd had their chance and it hadn't worked out and now she was ready to move on. He'd always cared more about her happiness than his own and if marrying this American bloke and leaving her home and friends was what she wanted, then he wouldn't stop her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the great reviews of last chapter guys. I'm really trying to keep this one going because I have a pretty clear vision for it. Let me know what you all think of this chapter. P.S is everyone excited that the new book is coming soon? Anyway happy reading **

James stumbled in to his house around 7'oclock the next night and felt the exhaustion consume his body. He and Sirius had spent the entire day searching the surrounding area after death eaters had attacked another family's house outside of London. It had been the fourth attack this week and Voldemort and his supporters were getting bolder with each strike. He and Sirius had arrived on the scene to find a crumbled house and no survivors. Needless to say, James' mood was dark. So when he entered his apartment and found a large sofa upholstered with flowers, he was less than amused. He looked around and realized that his couch wasn't the only thing that had received a makeover. He now had pink curtains and frilly pillows adorning his living room. He swore loudly. It was at this point that the culprit appeared before him.

"Doesn't this room look so much better? I think a feminine touch was exactly what it needed," Lily said. "Wait until you see what I've done with the bedroom."

James looked at her and his mood went from dark to black. He'd hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with his "wife" today. He simply wanted to unwind after the awful day he'd had.

"Fine, go ahead and waste your money trying to make me mad," James said as he took a seat on the offensive couch.

Lily looked at him innocently and then a wicked smile formed on her face.

"Oh, but James I thought you said it was our money," Lily said sweetly. "So I used our account at Gringotts."

He had to laugh at her little plan to irritate him. She could spend his money until she was blue in the face and it wouldn't make a dent in his bank account. Much to his dismay, he was the heir to the Potter family fortune.

"Go ahead and spend as much as you want, we both know I have enough galleons for you to fill a hundred houses full of ugly pink couches. Honestly, I always thought you had better tastes than that," James nonchalantly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've had a horrible day and I'd rather not be harped on."

Lily watched him as he walked up the stairs to his bedroom and disappeared. She sat on the ugly couch and used a few charms to transform the room back to how it looked originally. She chided herself for thinking that spending his money would bother James. He wasn't driven by money. She was getting desperate and she was going to have to do something drastic.

An hour later she was still sitting in James' living room thinking. She barely noticed when he walked back downstairs, freshly showered and shaved, wearing a wrinkle free shirt and jeans. He looked at her, surprised that she was still there. However, he didn't say anything and continued to walk to the door.

"Do you have a hot date?" Lily asked, before he had a chance to escape.

He looked at her quizzically and gave her the famous lopsided grin.

"As a matter of fact yes," he replied and then apparrated away.

She smiled to herself. She had a plan.

James sat in a booth at the Three Broomsticks with his arm draped around his date with a bored expression on his face. Sirius, Gabby, Remus, and Kate were on the other side of the room playing a game of pool. He eyed them jealously, obviously not enthralled with what his date was saying. Carrie Liston worked at the quidditch shop in Diagon Alley and had flirted constantly with James every time he came in. Finally he decided to ask her out, and he was beginning to regret his decision.

She was gossiping about something inane when James saw Lily walk through the door. He may despise her, but she still was the prettiest girl in any room she walked into. Her shoulder-length wavy red hair framed her face perfectly and her green eyes sparkled. She was dressed casually wearing a pair of jeans and a black sweater, but somehow she looked more stylish then he remembered. Their eyes connected and she gave him a mischievous smile. He braced himself for the mayhem she was about to start. She casually walked over to his table and smiled at his date, but it was a different smile then she had given him earlier; it wasn't full of vivaciousness and it lacked authenticity.

"Hi James, fancy seeing you here," she said casually.

"What do you want Lily?" he asked bracingly.

She stared at him with her innocent big green eyes.

"Now is that anyway to talk to your wife?" she asked as a look of triumph developed on her face.

James' date just watched in confusion.

"I'm sorry how rude of James not to introduce us. I'm Lily Potter, James' wife," Lily said kindly, as if what she was saying sounded completely ordinary.

When James heard Lily use his last name, he smiled slightly, but then immediately realized that she didn't mean the things she was saying. Kelly looked like a kid who had been caught doing something naughty at school. Her cheeks flushed.

"You're married?" Carrie asked as she looked at James who was trying hard not to laugh.

Lily didn't know it and if she found out she wouldn't be happy, but she'd done him a favor.

"If you define being married as not seeing your wife for seven years and then one day she shows up and announces she's engaged to another man, then yes I guess I am," James said with a smile.

Carrie still looked confused. She looked back and forth between Lily and James trying to figure out if she was having an elaborate joke played on her.

"He's married," Lily said with enough force that she surprised herself with how real it sounded.

James looked at her with exasperation.

"Not for long," James protested and he took Carrie's hand and led her towards the bar to buy her a drink.

Lily tried hard not to laugh when she saw the tiny skirt Carrie was wearing.

"I see the plan to torture James into giving you a divorce is under way," Gabby said as she walked over to Lily and handed her a drink.

Lily just nodded her head. She downed her drink and challenged Gabby to a game of pool. Several drinks and several games later, Lily was the undisputed champion of pool. So far only Sirius had come close to beating her and she wasn't even trying that hard. Lily was finding it hard to concentrate while she was watching James and his date at the same time. She watched as Carrie draped herself over James. She didn't know why this bothered her, but she had the desire to hex Carrie into oblivion.

"Care to see if you can beat your wife at a game of pool?" Lily said to James.

He was leaning up against a wall talking to Sirius as Carrie acrobatically tried to latch on to him. He looked at her with interest when she extended the invitation.

"Funny how you're my wife only when it's convenient for you," James said as he took a swig of beer.

He grabbed a stick and chalked it up.

"Oh come on, I'm doing you a favor trying to scare her off. I saw that bored expression on your face. It was the same look you had when you dated Chastity Sellers during sixth year because you thought it would make me jealous," Lily said.

James laughed, but it didn't keep him from sinking his first shot.

"No, I dated her because I thought she was hot, but then I learned that Chastity wasn't just her name, it was her way of life, and that's when I got bored," James said jokingly.

Lily whacked James in the arm with her stick for his offensive comment.

"And don't get me started on the gits you dated at Hogwarts. Remember Glen Keller?" James said with a smile.

"Hey, he was sweet, just because he got nervous whenever he tried to kiss me and broke out in hives, doesn't mean you can make fun of him," Lily said playfully.

"Ok fine, but you can't defend Stanley Handley, or as Sirius and I called him, Stan the man with the wandering hands," James said with a laugh.

"Yes, but you didn't have to hex him so that every time he talked to me his face would grow huge boils," Lily replied. "He probably still has scars."

"That was one of my more brilliant ideas," James said as he congratulated himself on his ingenious.

Lily had not been paying attention and when she looked back at the table, she realized that James had cleared it. He gave her one of his infamous smirks and put his stick on top of the table.

"Guess that means I win; your game is really slipping Evans" he said and then turned around and headed back to his date.

Lily pounded back another glass of fire whiskey and glared at James as he kissed his date forcefully. She looked around and saw everyone paired off. Gabby and Sirius were talking in low tones to each other and Kate and Remus were enjoying a quiet moment. She felt a pang of sadness as she watched her friends together. She'd missed major moments in their lives and she regretted it. For the first time, she felt a pang of regret for living them behind. She pounded back another drink and grabbed her pool stick again.

"Come on Remus, grab a stick and see if you can redeem yourself. I've been drinking so my hand eye coordination should be a little off," Lily said belligerently

Remus accepted her challenge and walked over to the pool table. She threw the stick at him and he grabbed it before it hit him in the face.

Lily lined up her first shot and when she went to hit the ball, she completely missed it.

Sirius laughed at her. "Nice aim Lily," Sirius said.

"Out of everyone in this room Sirius Black, you shouldn't be criticizing my aim," Lily said somewhat playfully, but with a slight bite to her words.

Sirius stared hard at her, daring her to continue down the path she had started. She smirked at him.

"Or do I need to remind everyone about how you missed a goal that would have beaten the Slytherins and won us the Quidditch Cup?" Lily shrieked.

Sirius glared at her and then shot a jelly legs jinx in her direction, which she sloppily deflected in her inebriated state.

"That's an old story Lily and we all know that James saved the day and caught the snitch and we went on to win the cup," Sirius said testily.

"Irrelevant," Lily shouted. "You had the chance to be the hero and you choked."

"I think you'll find I've never had any desire to be a hero," Sirius growled at her and Lily decided to turn her venom on Remus

"Come on make your shot so I can finish kicking your ass," Lily slurred.

Remus laughed.

"Lily, look at the table. I am killing you," Remus said as he pointed out all of the balls she had left to sink.

"Just like that night during fifth year when I met Moony the…" but she didn't finish because James had placed a hand over her mouth

He glared at her fiercely for being so careless as to reveal Remus' condition. Lily looked at Remus, who was staring at the ground. Katie had her arms around him whispering something into his ear, but he looked visibly upset. She knew it was a cheap shot and that Remus would never intentionally hurt anyone. It was her own foolishness that had led her to danger in the first place. She'd followed the marauders, curious about where they disappeared to every month. When she entered the shrieking shack and came face to face with a full grown werewolf, she regretted her curious nature. The werewolf lunged at her and pinned her beneath him. She could still remember the paralyzing fear she felt. If it hadn't been for James, who fought off Moony and gave her the time to run back to the castle, she probably would have been bitten, or worse, died. She knew it killed Remus that he'd put her in danger and she was lashing out at him for no reason.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," Remus said stiffly.

He put down his drink and his pool stick and walked out of the room. Katie followed him and gave Lily a disappointed look.

"Oh come on I was just kidding. Rosmerta, how about another round of drinks for my friends," Lily shouted, trying to defuse the awkward situation.

Rosmerta looked at her and shook her head. "I think you've had enough," she said.

Lily looked around and saw people staring at her, even her friends.

"You all think your lives are so perfect," Lily shouted. "Well I've got news for you. There is a whole wide world out there and I've seen it. That's right. I'm happy. I've got someone who loves me so you can judge me all you want. I don't need you," Lily ranted.

She was stumbling around and bumping into things. Her friends just looked at her with exasperation and anger. Gabby shook her head, wondering what had happened to her best friend.

"Alright that's it," James said and he picked Lily up and threw her over his shoulder.

She kicked and screamed and threatened to hex James into the next century, but he didn't put her down.

"Put me down," she shouted.

"Not until you stop acting like such a brat," James growled as he carried Lily outside of the Three Broomsticks.

"It's your fault, you made me be mean to everyone," Lily said churlishly.

James dropped her on the ground and turned to look at her.

"I made you treat my friends like dirt?" James asked angrily. "That's rich."

"Our friends," Lily spat back.

"No, they stopped being your friends when you ran away because things got hard," James said quietly, which was usually a sign that he was seething with anger.

Lily blinked back tears as she looked at James.

"Why do you always have to make things so difficult," Lily shouted. "I'm trying to be happy. Why can't you understand that?"

"Don't kid yourself Lily, you won't be happy until you figure out how to let people in who love you," James said viciously.

"I let you in and look how well that turned out," Lily shouted back.

"You closed the door on us and pushed me away as soon as things got rough. You never even gave us a chance," James roared.

"I gave you seven years of chances and you never took any of them," Lily cried. "And now it's too late."

James just stared at her. He'd gone to New York half a dozen times to bring her back, but each time he couldn't bring himself to talk to her. He couldn't face the idea that she might be happier there than she was with him. So he'd resigned himself to waiting for her to come back to him. And now that she was here, he was more confused than ever.

"Fine, don't say anything. I didn't expect you to," Lily said quietly and then closed her eyes to apparate to Gabby's place.

"Oh no you don't," James said as he shook her. "You can't apparate in your state and I'm not about to let you splice yourself," James said.

"I'll be fine, just leave me alone," Lily shouted.

James quickly found Sirius' flying motorcycle and told Lily to get on. She refused and he was tired of arguing with her. He picked her up and placed her on the seat rather harshly. He got on the bike behind her and started it up.

"Hold on," he said gruffly and they were soon flying through the night air.

Lily fell asleep as they were flying over Oxford and stayed asleep until they reached James' flat. He'd argued with himself about whether or not to take her to Gabby's but he decided she probably wasn't too pleased with Lily at the moment and would want nothing to do with her. When they landed, he tried to wake Lily, but she wasn't budging. So he scooped her up and carried her into the house. He walked up the stairs to his bedroom and laid her on his bed. He pulled the covers over her and decided to spend the night on the couch. Tomorrow he thought he might set about trying to straighten things out with her.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Here is the next installment. I hope you all like it. Sorry it took so long to update, but things have been crazy. Anyway let me know what you think. I know Lily sounds a bit mean right now, but she has her reasons, which will unfold later. So don't be too annoyed with her. Hope everyone had an excellent Valentine's Day!_**

Lily woke up with a pounding headache. Her eyes were blurry and it took her a moment to adjust to her surroundings. It did not help that it was still dark out. Male clothes were scattered about the room and to Lily's shock, she realized she was in James' room. Suddenly the shower she had heard running was turned off and the bathroom door opened. James walked through it, clad only in a towel wrapped around his waist. Lily tried hard not to blush. James smiled slightly as he watched Lily hide her embarrassment.

"I see you decided to finally wake up," James commented as he rummaged through his dresser for some clothes.

"What am I doing here?" Lily asked bluntly. "Is this your idea of a joke?"

James stared at her slightly annoyed at what she was accusing him of.

"Yes, I drugged you, brought you to my room and ravished you all night long," James replied sarcastically.

Lily gasped slightly.

"We didn't…" Lily asked with a look of confusion on her face.

The events of last night were still slightly hazy to her. James just barked with laughter.

"No, you got belligerent at the pub, called Remus a werewolf and then I dragged you out of there and brought you home, but you fell asleep on the way and so being the gentleman I am, I leant you my bed and slept on the couch," James said as he ran his fingers through is wet hair. "And trust me, if anything had happened last night you would have remembered."

Lily wanted to wipe the smirk off his face. She felt embarrassed for getting out of hand last night and even more mortified that James had to take care of her. However, instead of being grateful, she decided to go in another direction.

"Oh stop looking so bloody pleased with yourself and put some sodding clothes on," Lily complained as the pounding in her head increased.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before. You used to be so much more pleasant in the morning Lils," James cheekily and then ducked as Lily flung a pillow at him.

Lily turned her head as James shrugged his towel off and put on a pair of jeans. He put on a sweatshirt and decided to leave Lily to her grouching. His stomach was starting to growl and he hadn't eaten in a while. He walked downstairs and found Gabby and Sirius sitting at the kitchen table.

"Is sleeping beauty finally awake?" Gabby asked.

James just nodded his head as he looked in the cupboards for any signs of food. All he could find was a cereal box that only had a few crumbs left.

"She must have had a fit when she realized she was in your room," Gabby continued.

"She wasn't very civil about it," James said.

"She's turned into a stropping cow," Gabby replied.

Sirius and James laughed.

"You should have seen her expression when I walked out of the bathroom in a towel," James said casually.

It was Gabby's turn to laugh.

"I would have paid a million galleons to see it," Gabby crowed.

Their exchange was interrupted when Lily padded, barefoot into the kitchen.

"I see her highness has decided to grace us with her presence," Gabby said sharply and then got up and left the table.

Sirius quickly followed, shooting Lily a look that could kill.

James just sat there drinking a cup of coffee staring at her. She had her hair down and curling wildly around her shoulders. He'd always liked the way she looked when she had just woken up.

"Nice sweatshirt," James commented as Lily took a seat at the table.

"I thought so when I bought it for you," Lily replied.

James's face fell slightly. He didn't want Lily thinking that his keeping the silly gifts she'd given him meant anything. It was impractical to toss out a perfectly good sweatshirt because it was from Lily, he reasoned.

"Haven't seen it in ages, I never wear it. You must have had to do some digging," James said, trying to remain aloof.

"Actually, it was on top of the pile of dirty clothes that takes up at least a quarter of the space in your room," Lily replied.

She poured herself a hot cup of coffee from the pot that was sitting on the table and put the warm liquid to her lips. She breathed in the warmth and let it flow throughout her body. The events of the evening started rushing back to her and immediately she felt a pang of regret settle in her stomach.

"James, about tonight, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to get so out of hand," Lily apologized.

James, who was deep in thought, looked at her quizzically.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," James replied.

Lily felt slightly annoyed at the sanctimonious attitude James was taking with her.

"I figured as much after the death glares Gabby and Sirius just shot at me, and I'll eat humble pie and apologize to everyone else soon enough. But I just wanted to say thanks for taking care of me," Lily said somewhat irritably.

James knew Lily hated apologizing. She was as stubborn as he was in that department. She hated being wrong, which was why she was so keen on doing the right thing all of the time.

"You did get quite pissed last night. Haven't seen you like that since the first day of seventh year when you found out I was head boy," James said.

Lily laughed, remembering the first and last time she had succumbed to fire whiskey, well before last night at least. Lily had come back from a meeting with James and Dumbledore and was fuming man. In an attempt to calm her down, Gabby and Katie decided a trip to a local bar was necessary. They snuck out of the castle and went to the Hogs Head because they decided they were less likely to run into any Hogwarts staff members. It was the first time Lily had tasted fire whiskey and she immediately disliked it. However, after the first few drinks, the rest had gone down a lot easier. When the girls returned, they were completely tossed and could barely stand. Lily didn't remember a lot about what happened, but according to James, she came up to his dorm room, ranted about how irresponsible and arrogant he was, then proceeded to rummage through his belongings to take his badge away. She claimed she was confiscating it.

"I've never been very good at holding my liquor," Lily conceded.

James nodded in agreement. They sat there in silence, each drinking their coffee. It wasn't awkward, but rather comfortable. Both were deeply entrenched in thought.

"Should I make us something to eat?" Lily asked after a while.

"Actually, I'm famished, but the cupboards are a little sparse," James said as he heard his stomach growl.

"You never were very good in the kitchen," Lily said and immediately got up and started to rummage through the cabinets.

"Honestly James, there isn't a spec of food in here," Lily chided as she reached behind a package of very old bread to find some pancake mix.

"Can't say Sirius and I put much stock in cooking," James replied.

Lily quickly whipped up a batch of pancakes and James watched as she flipped them in the air.

"You always did like doing things the muggle way," James remarked.

"Old habits die hard I guess," Lily replied as she piled a stack onto a plate and handed them to James.

She made a plate for herself and took a seat again. They ate in silence, each to hungry to think about anything else except the food in front of them. James felt nervous as he watched Lily eat. He needed to ask her about what she said last night, about how she'd waited for him. He needed to know if it was too late.

"Lily I need to ask you something," James said quietly.

She looked at him with her reassuring green eyes and his heart started to race.

"Did you mean what you said last night, about waiting for me?" he asked nervously.

Lily's face fell. On the list of things to refrain from telling James, admitting that she'd secretly hoped he'd come and try to win her back, was definitely high up there. Suddenly the conversation they'd had the night before came rushing back to her. She didn't know what to say so she decided to be honest for once.

"There was always a part of me that didn't want to give up on us," Lily admitted.

For the first time in seven years, James felt a glimmer of hope. He knew she still cared about him.

"And now?" James asked.

Lily looked at him. His hazel eyes were so familiar to her. This was the first man she had ever loved. They'd been through everything together. But this wasn't her life anymore, he wasn't part of her life. She'd moved on.

"James don't do this," Lily said pleadingly.

"Because if I'd thought you'd wanted me to come, I would have taken the first portkey to New York," James continued.

Lily's eyes began to fill with tears. For seven years she had opened her apartment door, hoping to find James there, but he never was. And now there was another person waiting for her, it was too late.

"It's in the past," was all that Lily could say, her voice trembling.

James got up from the table and walked over to her.

"No it's not, I'm right here," he said as he stood in front of her.

There was a point in her life, where she would have given anything to have James offer what he was offering, but everything was different now.

"I can't James, I'm sorry," Lily said and then ran from the kitchen before James could see the tears streaming from her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Enjoy this chapter, next one is going to be full of action._**

Remus Lupin sat in his study staring at a large dusty book. He found reading to be very comforting, but at the moment he wasn't absorbing anything on the page in front of him. Instead he thought about the previous night. In his heart, he knew that Lily held no prejudices or grudges against him, but it hurt just the same. It was just a reminder of the painful and incurable condition he lived with. It affected very aspect of his life and no matter what he did, he couldn't escape the truth. He knew that Katie loved him despite his lycanthropy, but he hated that she had to sacrifice because of it. He knew she wanted children and to live a normal life, and he couldn't give that to her. It was too dangerous. He slammed his fist on the table in front of him and cursed loudly.

Katie, who heard the noise, came into the study to find her husband deep in thought.

"Honestly Remus, stop feeling sorry for yourself. You know Lily didn't mean anything by it," Katie said.

Katie had long ago learned to deal with Remus' dark moods. She was sympathetic, but honest. It wouldn't do Remus any good to dwell on the events of last night. He looked at her and smiled. His wife walked over to him and he pulled her onto his lap.

"Have I told you lately how incredibly wonderful you are?" Remus asked as he kissed her.

"It wouldn't hurt if you reminded me," Katie said playfully.

They sat there together simply enjoying the moment of solitude, but Remus had something on his mind.

"Katie, do you want children?" Remus asked hesitantly.

Katie looked at him with confusion, and didn't immediately know how to respond.

"I want a lot of things in my life, but I've got the most important thing right here in front of me," Katie said as she placed a reassuring kiss on Remus' forehead.

Remus started to brood again.

"I'd never want you to give up anything because of me," Remus replied.

Katie placed her head on Remus' shoulder in order to get closer to him. She loved everything about her husband, his smell, his eyes that always showed what he was thinking, his shaggy hair, his scruffy face. She loved Remus Lupin.

"Remus, I love you and I'll take anything that comes with that. Kids would be nice, but if they aren't in the cards, then that's the hand fate's dealt us. Honestly, the world is too dangerous right now for children anyway. So just accept that you mean everything to me, and get over whatever is bothering you," Katie explained as she ran her fingers through her husbands sandy blonde hair.

Remus pulled her into a kiss and she quickly deepened it. This was the scene Lily walked into, after hearing voices come from the study and deciding to investigate.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll come back later," Lily said slightly flustered.

Katie laughed as she watched Lily blush. She extricated herself from her husband's hold and straightened her clothes.

"Pay back for all of the times I walked in on you and James snogging in the common room after you thought everyone was asleep," Katie said as she watched Lily's blush deepen. "I'll leave you to it then."

Remus watched her walk out of the den and then turned his attention to Lily.

"Surprised to see you among the living after last night's escapades," Remus said.

Lily smiled, taking Remus' humor as a sign that he wasn't too miffed at her.

"Mind if I take a seat?" Lily asked hesitantly.

Remus gestured to a large chair and Lily dropped into it. He looked at her, waiting for her to start.

"I just wanted to come by and say I'm sorry. I was really awful last night and I said some stupid things," Lily started. "You know I couldn't care less about your being a werewolf, I was just being childish."

Remus smiled.

"Apology accepted. Next time stick to butterbeers," Remus said.

Lily looked at him quizzically. He looked genuinely happy, and she was shocked.

"That's it, you aren't going to tell me how much I hurt you and say you expected more of me?" Lily asked somewhat confused by Remus' response.

"Well if you'd walked in here ten minutes ago, I probably would have been less affable, but my pretty little wife is very good at bringing me out of my dark moods. So instead I'm willing to chalk it up to you going daft because James is giving you a hard time," Remus said reasonably.

Lily got up and gave Remus a hug.

"I'll have to thank Katie," Lily said.

She turned around and started to head towards the door, figuring she owed Katie an apology next.

"We're not done yet," Remus said and Lily turned back around. "Take a seat because I've got a few things to say to you."

Lily groaned slightly. She wasn't in the mood to discuss James at the moment. However, still feeling guilty over last night, she reluctantly sat back down. Remus looked at her earnestly.

"We've always been truthful with one another right?" Remus started.

"I'd like to think so," Lily replied.

"So then, can you tell me why you are so keen on marrying this American bloke? If you really are in love, I'll accept it and help James accept it, but if you aren't, then as a friend, I'd say stop lying to yourself," Remus said, trying to be as delicate as possible.

Lily took a deep breath.

"Jack is different and I like that about him. I'll always love James, I just can't be with him, it's too hard," Lily replied. "I don't expect any of you to understand, but I need to move on with my life."

"Do you love this guy, the way you loved James," Remus asked.

"It's a different kind of love than what I had with James, probably more sane, but yes I care about him," Lily replied.

"I just don't want to see you make a mistake," Remus said honestly.

"I know, but I have to live my own life," Lily said.

"He'd kill me if he knew I told you, but he came to New York to find you at least a half a dozen times," Remus said.

Lily sat silently, slightly dumbfounded by this fact that James Potter had done this. It didn't make sense to her as he had so easily let her go when she left him. He hadn't put up a fight; instead he had accepted it with a stony faced expression that lacked emotion. She could still remember their last encounter before she had decided to pack her things and leave. James had come home late and found Lily asleep on the couch. She woke up when she heard him start up the stairs. She remembered looking at him, urging him to say something, but he said nothing.

"Sorry if I woke you," was all he said.

Lily just nodded her head and watched him as he continued up the stairs. The next morning, she packed her things and left. James came home to a simple note that read "I can't do this anymore."

"What stopped him?" Lily asked quietly as she tried desperately to fight back the tears.

"I think the fear that you were actually happier there than you ever were with him. I think he would have rather gone on believing there was still a chance rather than know for sure there wasn't," Remus said.

Lily didn't say anything. She absorbed everything and tried to make sense of it. Part of her wanted to talk to James, to understand what he wanted. Part of her wanted to take the first portkey back to New York and escape everything that was complicated about her life.

"We just want you to be happy Lily," Remus said as he watched Lily try to sort things out.

"Thanks Remus," Lily said and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Later that afternoon, Lily found herself at Gabby's. She knocked on the front door of her flat, hoping that she was home. When no one answered, Lily got her wand out and thought of every unlocking charm she knew. Finally, the door knob turned and she walked in. She figured that if Gabby wasn't home, the best thing she could do was wait. Her suit case also happened to still be there. However, when she reached the living room, she found Gabby.

"So you're just going to ignore me then?" Lily asked as she took a seat next to Gabby.

Gabby, who was busy reading some papers for work, looked at her with irritation.

"The world hasn't stopped just because you've come back to wreak havoc, so excuse me if I have to get some work done and would rather not be disturbed," Gabby said pointedly.

Lily looked at the mountain of paperwork that was piled next to the couch and laughed. Gabby was one of the brightest witches she knew, but she was also the most disorganized. Her cases and reports were strewn all over the place.

"Well if you're too busy to have me grovel at your feet and beg your forgiveness, then I guess I'll have to come back later," Lily said.

Gabby never missed an opportunity to watch Lily eat crow, but at the moment she was too infuriated to take Lily up on her offer. Instead the two witches sat in silence. Lily knew it was no use trying to apologize if Gabby wasn't ready to hear it. She contented herself by taking the reports that were strewn about and organizing them. She made piles based on the type of case and what needed to be taken care of first. It was a system she had employed with Gabby during their time at Hogwarts. Lily was convinced that if it hadn't been for her, Gabby would have just pushed all of her homework under the bed and pretended it didn't exist.

"I see you haven't stopped being a neat freak," Gabby said as she finished a form and handed it to Lily to be put in the pile for completed projects.

"You call it being a neat freak, I call it good sense," Lily replied.

"Good sense my arse," Gabby said and Lily knew she was finally ready to talk.

"Are you finally ready to have a go at me then?" Lily asked.

Gabby snorted.

"I'm ready to tell you that you have your head so far shoved up your arse you can't see what a mess of things you are making," Gabby replied.

"If this is about last night, I'm sorry. I was tossed and didn't mean a word of what I was saying," Lily said, trying to decipher exactly what Gabby was upset about.

Gabby stood up and started pacing like a caged tiger, muttering to herself.

"I think you meant what you said about not needing any of us. Obviously its true if you can disappear for seven years without letting us know how you were getting on," Gabby said angrily.

"You know why I left and why I couldn't talk to you all," Lily replied.

"You ran because you got scarred," Gabby accused as she glared at Lily.

"I didn't run, things had been deteriorating for a long time, and it just got too hard," Lily said defensively.

"That's bullocks. Life is hard and you deal with it because you've got friends and family who support and love you. You don't turn your back on them the moment things get tough," Gabby fired back.

Tears began to stream down Lily's face.

"I didn't turn my back on you all, I just couldn't face you. I knew you'd never accept my decision to leave," Lily said.

"You didn't even give us a chance. You were my best friend, my sister. I would have understood," Gabby said.

"No you wouldn't have. You might have accepted it, but you never would have understood. It's not in you to give up," Lily said.

Gabby pulled her into a hug.

"It's not in you either," she said.

Lily was about to reply, when a painting on the wall came to life.

"Emergency Order meeting," the painting said.

Gabby immediately sprang into action. She grabbed her wand and her jacket.

"I knew something was bound to happen, those bastards have been quiet for too long," Gabby shouted as she quickly assembled everything she would need.

She grabbed Lily's hand and appparated before Lily had a chance to protest.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it has been so long. Things got crazy. Anyway here is a nice long chapter for everyone to enjoy. I hope you all like it. Let me know what you think and sorry for any mistakes, I just don't have the patience to proof it.**

Moments later, Gabby and Lily found themselves standing in a large hallway of a very old house. Lily immediately recognized where they were.

"I see James offered the Potter mansion for the Order's headquarters," Lily said as she took in her surroundings.

Enormous portraits of Potter descendents adorned the passageway they were walking through and Lily felt as if they were staring at her. She hadn't been to this house since her wedding to James. They'd had it outside in the garden. It was beautiful. Chills ran down her spine as she thought about the night.

"Yes, he figured since no one was living here, it might as well go to some use," Gabby said as she pressed on a statue that opened a door, that led to another long corridor.

Lily felt a pang of sadness, remembering how alive the mansion used to feel when James' parents had lived there. She'd always associate the old place with the lavish parties that were held in the ballroom or the impromptu quidditch matches James and his friends would hold in the back yard. She knew James had always dreamed of moving into the place and fixing it up, they'd talked about it together plenty of times. She guessed James had given up on that plan after she'd left.

Lily was brought out of her reverie when she and Chloe entered a dimly lit room that was already full of members pacing back and forth waiting for instructions from Dumbledore. She recognized almost everybody in the room; she'd grown up with half of them and learned from the rest. They'd fought, experienced death, fear, and every other emotion together, but she knew that it didn't matter to them. She'd abandoned them and everything they stood for.

"What's she doing here?" Sirius asked Gabby as he walked over to where she and Lily were standing.

Gabby elbowed him the ribs.

"Don't start Sirius. If something bad has occurred, we are going to need every good witch and wizard available and Lily is the best," Gabby said.

"She's rusty and hasn't seen action in years. If she gets in trouble I'm less inclined to come rescue her," Sirius groused.

Lily stepped in, irritated that her skills and her presence were being ignored.

"I'd be happy to use you as target practice," Lily offered.

This managed to bring a smile to Sirius' handsome face.

"Just don't get hurt," Sirius warned, and Lily could tell he was genuinely concerned.

"Where's James?" Gabby asked, realizing that her boyfriend's partner in crime was missing.

Sirius nodded toward a closed door.

"He's talking with Dumbledore, Moody, Longbottom, and Pruitt," Sirius said. "Probably devising some half-brained scheme that's going to end up landing me in St. Mungo's," Sirius complained.

However, before they could continue the conversation, the door opened and out walked James, Mad-Eye, Frank, and Gideon. Dumbledore followed him, and his expression betrayed his distress. The old wizard made his way to the front of the room and immediately everyone fell silent.

"A trusted source has revealed to me that Voldemort and his followers are planning an attack on a wizarding village in Northern England tonight," Dumbledore began.

Everyone let out a collective cry of outrage. However, Dumbledore urged them to let him finish.

"We must act quickly to prevent this from occurring. You all know what teams you are assigned to and your leaders will give you further instructions on what you are to do once you reach your destination. I can only urge caution and vigilance," Dumbledore said.

Immediately, every witch and wizard in the room sprang into action. Lily sat, somewhat dazed by her surroundings. However, Gabby pulled her up from her seat and dragged her over to where a group was gathering around James. Remus, Katie, Peter, a young witch Lily recognized from Hogwarts as Emmeline Vance, Dorcas Meadows, and Sirius were all listening intently to James' instructions.

"Apparate to the town and rendezvous at the Church, from there we will split up and patrol three houses that are currently occupied by high level ministry officials," James said.

"Splendid thanks for signing us up for the suicide mission Prongs," Sirius complained.

No one took him seriously however; Sirius would never want to be away from the center of action. James just ignored his comment.

"Our job is to make sure these officials and their families are evacuated and brought back here for protection. We don't know if death eaters are already there so be careful and move quickly," James finished and then one by one they all apparated away.

Lily wasn't sure if James noticed her when he was giving instructions, but before she had the chance to apprate, he grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

She wasn't sure if he was angry or worried.

"Thought you lot might need some help," Lily said.

"You aren't going," James countered.

"You can't tell me what to do," Lily shouted.

"Like hell I can, I'm in charge and I won't have someone so out of practice getting into trouble," James roared.

Lily became incensed. She walked up to him and stood so close that she could see the fire in his eyes.

"Don't question my abilities James," Lily said with quiet fury.

"You aren't coming and that is final," James said and then apparated away.

Lily had never been so outraged. She'd competed against him for top marks in their Auror class. She was a Hogwarts dueling champion, a former head girl, and a former Order member. She would be damned if she let him tell her what she could and couldn't do.

She closed her eyes and felt a tug at her navel. When she opened them again, she was in a surrounded by darkness. Her instincts immediately kicked in. She pulled out her wand and started to look for the Church where she was supposed to meet up with the others. When she got there, only Gabby remained.

"Took you long enough," she complained. "Everyone else left already. James assured me you weren't coming, but I knew you'd come just to spite him."

"Egotistical, pig headed, arrogant…." but Gabby cut her off before she could get on a role.

"Come on, we've got to save some people and we don't have all day," Gabby said and headed off into the darkness.

Lily had to practically spring to keep up with Gabby. She cursed herself for not staying in better shape. She was also beginning to wonder if she was up to potentially battling death eaters and worse, Voldemort. She tried not to let her fear get the best of her, but when they arrived at the house they were supposed to protect, she began to shake slightly. Gabby noticed then and put an arm around her friend.

"It's like riding a bike," Gabby said, however, her words were not encouraging.

"I'd hardly compare bike riding and walking into a rickety old house that is probably full of death eaters as similar tasks," Lily argued.

However, they didn't have time to talk. Gabby used her wand to quietly open the front door. The house was quiet and dark. Lily and Gabby only had the lights from the wands to guide them.

"Find the family and get them out, I'll check for threats," Gabby whispered.

Lily nodded her head in agreement. The two girls split up and Lily headed up the staircase to find the master bedroom. The stairs creaked with every step she took, so Lily had to move fast in case someone heard her. When she came to the top of the steps she examined the long hallway in front of her. At the end was a pair of large doors that she thought would lead her to the master bedroom. She moved quickly to reach the doors and then threw them open. The room was cloaked in darkness so Lily used the light from her wand to illuminate it. When she was able to take in her surroundings, she found a couple sleeping in a bed. Uncertain of what to do next, but not wanting to waste time, Lily attempted to wake them. She shook the man hard, hoping to jar him from his sleep. Her efforts were successful.

"What the devil is going on," the man said drowsily.

Lily didn't have time to explain.

"My name is Lily Evans, I'm a friend of Albus Dumbledore's. Voldemort and his supporters are planning an attack, so we must get you out of here," Lily said urgently.

By this time the man's wife was awake. The look on her face betrayed her terror.

"Why would he come here?" she asked, unable to comprehend what Lily had just told her.

"I don't know, but we must leave immediately. I have a safe place to take you," Lily pressed.

The entire time she watched the door and her surroundings for any potential attackers. The couple immediately sprang into action and hurriedly prepared to leave

"The children," the woman said with panic as she tied her cloak around her neck.

Lily's heart began to pound.

"Where are they?" Lily said quickly.

The woman pointed the nursery next door.

"I'll get them, just hurry. We'll have to floo now," Lily said and then sprinted towards the door the woman had shown her.

She flung it open and inside were two small children, a boy and a girl, sleeping soundly in their beds. Lily went to pick them up, and put one under each arm. She turned to leave the room, but by this time she wasn't alone.

"Look at who we have here," a voice cackled. "I thought we had scared you off for good, mudblood."

Lily, clinging to the two children she was holding, stared into the faces of Bellatrix Black.

"I see your precious Lord Voldemort didn't feel like getting his hands dirty tonight," Lily spat.

Bellatrix looked at her menacingly, incredulous that Lily had referred to the dark lord in such a manner.

"On the contrary, he is here, but he just couldn't be bothered to dispense with Undersecretary Collins and his family. Therefore, I just took it upon myself," Bellatrix said, stepping aside to reveal two bodies lying lifelessly on the hardwood floor.

Lily tried to mask her horror and by now, the children were awake and had started to cry loudly. Lily tried her best to comfort them, but their wailing continued.

"Shut up," Bellatrix screamed, and with one flick of her wand, Lily was flying backwards towards a wall, and Bellatrix had levitated the children, so they were now dangling upside down in the air.

Their screams became louder and Lily watched in horror as Bellatrix spun them around mercilessly.

"Stop," Lily shouted as she pointed her wand at Bellatrix and shot a stunner.

With lightening quick reflexes, she managed to keep the children from falling to the ground after Bellatrix's concentration was broken. She used a simple floating charm to guide both children into a crib behind her.

Bellatrix screeched as she regained her composure.

"Let us leave Bellatrix, or I won't hesitate to do worse," Lily said angrily.

Bellatrix just cackled manically.

"It'd be my pleasure to let you try," Bellatrix said and then shot a jet of purple light at Lily. "I've missed our scuffles."

Lily deftly blocked it with a shield charm, but was caught off guard when a blasting curse hit her squarely in the chest. For the second time that night, she slammed into the wall behind her. She was starting to get annoyed.

"You've lost your touch mudblood. It won't be nearly as much fun if you don't at least put up a good fight," Bellatrix shrieked as she descended upon Lily.

Lily saw the wild look in her opponent's eyes and decided it was time to fight back.

"Expelliarmus," Lily shouted, and Bellatrix was knocked off her feet and her wand flew through the air to Lily's outstretched hand.

Then, she shot a jet of green light from her wand that hit Bellatrix and left her unconscious. Lily quickly produced a set of ropes that wrapped around Bellatrix so she wouldn't be able to move once she woke up. As soon as she was finished, the door burst open and Lily didn't hesitate to shoot a stunner towards the person who was entering. Luckily, Gabby deflected it, but she shot Lily and annoyed look.

"I see my concern for your safety was completely unwarranted," Gabby said as she eyed Bellatrix, lying unconscious on the floor. "Where are the Undersecretary and his wife?"

Lily didn't say anything for a moment. It was her fault they were dead. She was supposed to protect them and she failed. She looked over at the children and felt a profound sense of sadness. They would never know their parents.

"She killed them when I came to get the children," Lily said trying to hide the shock and sadness in her voice.

Gabby watched as Lily walked over to the two small babies, who were still whimpering, and picked them up. She held them close to her.

"You did everything right Lily. There was nothing you could have done. You protected the children and that's what matters," Gabby said, in an attempt to console her best friend.

"If I hadn't left them, they'd still be alive," Lily said as she attempted to soothe the crying babies in her arms.

It was at this point, that Gabby knew Lily was no longer talking about Mr. and Mrs. Collins, but rather her own parents. Lily felt personally responsible for their deaths because she hadn't been able to protect them, and the same had happened tonight.

"We both know that you can't play the what if game. None of this isn't your fault," Gabby tried to reason, but Lily wasn't listening.

"I forgot how awful all of this is," Lily said emotionlessly.

Gabby walked over to Lily and extracted one of the children from her arms.

"It's the shit," Gabby admitted. "We have to fight to end it."

"It'll never end," Lily said. "He'll never stop."

At this point, Lily began to cry. She cried for the family she couldn't protect, the children she was holding who wouldn't know their parents, for everyone who'd lost someone to Voldemort, and for the life he'd taken from her. This was how James and Sirius found her, sobbing uncontrollably.

"We saw your patronus, is everything alright?" Sirius asked.

Gabby nodded.

"Lily had a run in with Bellatrix. As you can see, she won, but not before your dear cousin killed the Undersecretary and his wife while Lily was in here collecting the children," Gabby explained.

James watched as Lily clung to the child in her arms and sobbed. He walked up to her and pulled her to him. She allowed herself to collapse into his arms and felt safe again. She'd always felt safe when James held her.

"It's going to be okay," James said soothingly as he held her to him tightly. "Everything is fine now."

He delicately removed the child from Lily's arms and handed him to Sirius.

"Take the children and Bellatrix back to headquarters. You'll have to floo. We'll meet you there," James said to Sirius.

Gabby started to refuse, not wanting to leave her best friend, but one look from Sirius told her to shut up and leave Lily and James alone. For her part, Lily didn't let go of James. Her tears stopped, but she wasn't ready to escape his embrace.

"It's all so pointless," she said as she dried her eyes. "No matter what I do, he wins."

James didn't know how to respond. She was right; they were losing the war and nothing they did seem to weaken Voldemort or his followers. They'd lost friends and family because they risked defying him, and he was beginning to wonder if it was worth the sacrifice. But he had to believe that he was doing the right thing.

"He wins because you let him control you. He wants you to feel weak and powerless," James said.

Lily peaked up at him with her watery green eyes.

"I never had the devotion you have James," Lily said earnestly.

There had been a point in her life when she would have followed James anywhere, but she'd seen what life could be like free from fear, from sadness and sorrow, and she wasn't sure she could leave that life's safe embrace.

"That's bullocks, the Lily Evans I knew was fierce. I remember when you single handedly defeated Malfoy and Lestrange," James said.

Lily smiled a bit, remembering the shocked expression on Lucius Malfoy's handsome, yet twisted face when she hit him with a stunner spell. She'd felt an immense amount of satisfaction when she saw the two death eaters unconscious.

"Yes, but there were loads of other times when we were lucky to escape with our lives," Lily countered.

"You used to like the challenge," James replied.

"Well I used to be daft," Lily said.

By this time she was smiling slightly.

"I think you are still a bit daft," James said playfully. "Come on let's get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps."

They stood up from the spot where they had been sitting on the floor. Silently, Lily walked over to the two fallen bodies and took one last look at them. Their eyes were open, but there was no life behind them.

"We can't just leave them here," Lily said as she bent down to close the eyes of the mother.

"Ministry officials will take care of them," James replied.

"If I die, I don't want people leaving my sorry carcass behind. We'll take them with us," Lily stated.

James tried not to think in such morbid terms. He hoped that he wouldn't meet the same fate the undersecretary and his wife had.

"How are we going to do that," James said somewhat irritably.

"Carry them of course," Lily said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

James blanched slightly. The idea of lugging a dead person back to headquarters didn't sound appealing.

"There is no way you are getting me to do that," James protested.

Lily glared at him.

"Fine we'll just leave them here for the death eaters to claim as prizes," Lily said indignantly.

At this point, James knew there was no arguing with her. Instead, he just walked over to the body of the undersecretary and used a simple charm to make him weightless. He then levitated the body so that it floated in front of him. Lily did the same thing with the wife.

"Thank you," Lily said, trying to hide her smile.

"Come on, let's get moving. I know a portkey we can use that was set up in case of emergency," James said.

They were a morbid sight as they walked down the street of the small town with two dead people floating in front of them. Both kept an eye out for any suspicious activity. Death Easters were known for coming back to the scene of an attack to take anything valuable they could find. Finally they reached a spot under an old knarled looking willow tree. Lily saw an old boot resting on a branch.

"I'm not touching that old manky boot," Lily protested.

"You'll touch dead people, but not a piece of footwear?" James asked curiously.

Before she had time to respond, James had grabbed her hand and placed it on the boot and they were gone.

They landed with a thud on a cold stone floor. They were back in the Potter mansion. Lily stood up and dusted herself off and realized everyone was staring at her and James. Sirius, Gabby, Remus, and Katie had all waited for them to return and were quite shocked to see what they had brought back.

"What'd you bring the stiffs for?" Sirius asked insensitively.

His remark earned him a glare from Lily and a swift jab in the ribs from Gabby.

"Don't be so callous," Gabby said.

"My thoughts exactly, but I couldn't get Lily to leave without them," James replied, as he stood up and joined his friends.

Katie and Gabby were still holding the small children that had survived the night's attacks. They argued over what should be done with them. Katie wanted to keep them, but Sirius and Gabby argued that they should be handed over to the authorities. Finally, Dumbledore swooped in to get a report from James. When he saw the two bodies and the children he frowned slightly.

"I see we were too late," Dumbledore said.

Lily bit her lip, but then stepped forward.

"It was my fault sir. While I was collecting the children, Bellatrix attacked them. She came after me, but I stopped her," Lily said quietly.

Dumbledore absorbed the information. He looked at the tiny red head who he'd known since she was eleven. He'd seen her grow from a frightened young girl who knew nothing of the wizarding world into one of the brightest witches of her age.

"You did the right thing in protecting the children," Dumbledore said.

Lily fought back the tears that were building in her eyes. The words he said meant a lot to her.

"You've all had a long night, I suggest you go home and sleep," Dumbledore said.

All six looked at each other and let out a collective groan.

"What about the children sir?" Katie asked.

"I'll take them. They have an aunt who lives in Surrey who can care for them," Dumbledore said.

Katie looked a little said as he said this. She'd hoped that maybe she could take them home. Remus put an arm around her as she let go of the child in her arms and handed it over to Dumbledore. Lily made sure that Dumbledore would see to a proper burial for the undersecretary and his wife. Dumbledore promised he would.

When he was gone, they all stood and stared at each other. It had been another horrible night that would haunt them. Gabby clung to Sirius and Katie and Remus hugged each other. Lily desperately needed someone to hold her, but she couldn't ask James to. It wouldn't be fair. Instead they just looked at each other, both understanding why they couldn't hold each other.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok I tried to update fast this time. I also attempted to proof read. Let me know what you all think.**

A few days later, Lily woke up early in the morning. She pulled herself off of Gabby's couch and rummaged through her suitcase for something black. The Collins' memorial service was today and Lily wanted to go to pay her respects. Everyone had discouraged her from going, saying that it was too hard to get emotionally invested, but Lily felt like she owed it to the family. So she pulled out a black dress and borrowed a shawl from Gabby's closet. She put on her dark sunglasses and piled her messy tangle of curls on top of her head. One look at herself in the mirror told her she was dressed appropriately for the somber occasion.

When she arrived at the cemetery, people had already started to gather for the ceremony. There were dozens of ministry officials and Lily also noticed that the event was being heavily guarded by Aurors. It was standard practice whenever a large group of important members of the wizarding community came together, because it was a perfect chance for Voldemort and his followers to attack. Lily wondered if James and Sirius were on duty. She looked around, but didn't see them. She did notice the Pruitt brothers and quickly said hello to them. She'd briefly dated Gideon when they were at Hogwarts together. However, James had hexed him so much that he'd decided it wasn't worth it.

As the ceremony started, Lily stood towards the back of the group. She noticed a young woman who was holding the Collins' two children. Her eyes were wet with tears and her face was twisted with sorrow. Several wizards who had worked with Mr. Collins at the Ministry spoke to the group. They praised his work ethic and friendly demeanor and condemned Voldemort and anyone who supported him. They all lamented the frequency with which they had to attend such unhappy events. Lily stood silently, wishing she had done something to protect them. Tears slid down her cheeks as she remembered how frightened they had looked before they died. She should have never let them out of her sight. As the service concluded, Lily paid her last respects and then attempted to make a discreet exit. Before she could, the young woman she had been watching earlier stopped her.

"You're Lily Evans right?" the young woman asked.

Lily reluctantly nodded her head.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Lily said quietly.

The young woman was fighting back tears. She was barely out of Hogwarts and now she had two young children to look after. Lily smiled at the babies in her arms, who were two young to understand that they were mourning the deaths of their parents.

"I just wanted to say thank you," the girl continued.

Lily was somewhat taken aback. She was expecting anger from the young girl for not protecting her sister and brother-in-law, not gratitude.

"Why?" Lily asked with confusion.

"If you hadn't been there, the children would have been murdered too," the girl said as she clung to the two babies in her arms. "Dumbledore told me everything. I know my sister would be eternally grateful to you for saving her children. They are more important than anything."

Lily didn't know how to respond, but she felt the sense of guilt that had been sitting on her shoulders lighten a little. She did what the parents would have wanted, what any mother would have done. She'd made a choice to go for the children and while the choice was difficult, it the one she had to make.

"I'm just sorry I couldn't do more to save your sister and brother-in-law," Lily said finally.

"Well you can't be in two places at once. You made the right choice," the girl said.

It was blunt statement, but it was the truth, Lily accepted. She'd done everything she could and sometimes that had to be enough. She offered her condolences once again, kissed both babies on the head, and then departed the depressing scene.

She wanted to leave the cemetery as soon as possible, but she had one more stop she needed to make. When she arrived at the gravestones of her parents, she took a seat on the cool wet grass. It had been seven years since she'd been to their graves and she regretted that she hadn't visited them sooner. She still remembered the awful day she'd buried them. It had been raining and the wind whipped at her face relentlessly. The weather was an exact expression of her mood. She'd cried throughout the entire process and had never felt so alone. Her sister, true to form was stoic and instead of shedding a tear, she just gave Lily looks of utter loathing.

The painful memory of their deaths seemed all too fresh to Lily. She ran her fingers through the grass and broke off little pieces to play with.

"I'm sorry," Lily said quietly. "I should have been there to protect you. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't regret what happened," Lily said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Everything is so messed up," she continued. "I just wish you were still here. I'd do anything to have you back."

She held herself tightly as she buried her face in her hands. She felt so lost and she didn't know where she belonged anymore. She loved her life in New York, but there was a part of her that would always call England home. As she stared at her parents' headstones, she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned around and found James. He was holding flowers in his hands.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked, as James took a seat next to her.

"I come here once a month and put flowers out. I go visit my parents too," James said casually.

Lily was surprised at his thoughtfulness. She should have guessed he'd been coming to visit when she saw the old flowers that were in the vase next to her parents' graves. Her parents had always loved James and couldn't have been happier when they decided to get married. Even when Lily refused to admit she loved James, her mother knew differently. She'd always encouraged her daughter to "give the poor boy a chance."

"Thank you for doing that," Lily said.

She took James' hand and placed hers inside it. He smiled slight as she did this.

"Well I figured since I'm out here anyway, I might as well get two sets of flowers," James said, trying to downplay his actions.

"They loved you, you know. My father always said you were like the son he never had. I'm pretty sure he liked you more than me," Lily said, smiling as she remembered her dad.

James just nodded his head.

"I'll always be grateful to them for including me as part of your family after my parents died," James said.

Lily's mother had made sure that James came to every family dinner and spent every holiday with the Evans clan. She even made sure he had his own stocking for Christmas. There'd been a time when they were a happy family.

They sat in silence, both remembering how happy they used to be. Lily let tears roll down her cheeks freely. The lump in her throat tightened as she thought about her beautiful vibrant mother and her strong athletic father lying in the ground beneath them, dead.

"If only we'd been there. I'll never forgive myself," Lily said quietly.

Everything had happened so fast. During the party, James had enticed Lily to sneak off for a minute alone, so they could celebrate in private. He'd wanted to give her a wedding present. He gave her a beautiful necklace with a silver lily as a pendant. But their private moment was interrupted when they heard screams coming from the party. They rushed downstairs and outside into the garden, but by the time they got there it was too late. Lily's parents were dead and Voldemort was waiting for them. After a furious battle, Lily was left unconscious and spent a week in the hospital. When she woke up, Dumbledore told her what had happened. Voldemort killed her parents because they wouldn't give up her and James' whereabouts.

"At some point Lils you have to forgive yourself," James said.

Lily pulled her hand away from his and stared at him hard.

"Just like you did," Lily said accusingly.

James was taken aback.

"They loved you like a son and after they were gone, you didn't bat an eyelash," Lily continued.

James stood up at this point and threw the flowers on the ground.

"I didn't let my sorrow consume me like you do, if that's what you mean," James said.

"No you were content to go on an Auror mission the day after we buried them," Lily replied angrily.

She'd never been able to forgive James leaving her alone after the funeral. She'd never felt such a profound sense of loneliness. At this point James walked up to her and grabbed her.

"You walk around as if you are the only one who has lost people you love to him. He killed my parents too you know, and I watched him do it, unable to do anything about it" James roared.

Lily began to sob.

"My parents were innocent. They weren't a part of this world. They did nothing to deserve the fate they got," Lily cried.

"And I suppose mine did? They were just asking to be murdered," James seethed. "Why don't you just come out and say it. You blame me for their deaths."

It was the fight that they had never been able to have when they were married and it was the wedge that ultimately split them apart. Finally, Lily was ready to say what she needed to.

"If you hadn't made me leave the party, we could have saved them," she cried.

Her whole body was now racked with sobs. James wanted to be angry with her for being so foolish, but he couldn't. He just wanted to comfort her and he did just that. He pulled her to him and held her in his arms.

"If we had been there, we'd be dead now too," James said. "We'd be buried here instead of your parents."

Lily knew that it was the truth. Her parents had sacrificed themselves so Lily and James could live. It was the ultimate act of love, giving their lives so Lily and James could have theirs. She just desperately wished she hadn't put her parents in that position. She'd exposed them to her world and the dangers that came with it. In the end, they died because of who she was.

"They wouldn't have wanted that Lily. They wanted you to live," James said quietly as he stroked her red hair, that was now cascading down her back.

Lily clung to him, hating that he was the only one who understood her, the only one who could make her truly happy. She looked up at him, her eyes still filled with tears. And then she did what she had been fighting against since she had arrived back in England. She kissed him. She pulled his face towards hers and put her lips on his. She'd forgotten how nice it felt to kiss him. It was a slow tender kiss that was full of passion as they explored what they had been missing for the past seven years. Lily ran her hands through James' un-kept hair as she tried to pull him closer to her. The taste of her drove James wild. He'd been waiting seven years for this moment and he decided it had been worth it.

"What a disgusting display," a dark voice said.

Lily and James broke apart immediately and pulled their wands out. Voldemort, with two of his most trusted followers, Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus Lestrange, were standing in front of them. Lily and James looked at each other and James saw the fear in Lily's eyes.

"So you've finally decided to come after us yourself have you, Lord Voldemort," James spat.

"You dare to address me boy," Voldemort cackled.

He immediately shot a jet of purple light at James, who fell to the ground writhing in pain. Lily immediately dropped to her knees beside him. She watched as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Infuriated, she stood up and approached Voldemort and his followers.

"Why?" she shouted.

A twisted smile formed on Voldemort's skull like face. His eyes were two small slits, giving him a reptilian appearance. He hissed at her.

"Because I can," he replied.

"I won't let you take anything else from me," Lily screamed.

She pulled out her wand and shot a curse at the most feared dark wizard of her time. It hit him, but it appeared that no damage was inflicted. He just laughed at her feeble attempts to defeat him.

"You'll have to do better than that," Voldemort sneered, and with a flick of his wand, Lily was lying unconscious on the ground.

"Kill them master, they have been a thorn in our side for too long," Lucius recommended.

Voldemort turned and looked at Lucius, obviously displeased that he had offered an opinion when he hadn't been asked for one in the first place.

"When I want your advice Lucius, I will ask for it. Otherwise, do shut up," Voldemort replied.

"These two are too valuable to just dispose of. No, I think we should get some information from them first," Voldemort decided.

Both Lucius and Rodolphus looked at each other and smiled. Lucius was particularly skilled in the art of torture. He was unrelenting in his practices.

"Master, you are so wise," Lucius said.

"Don't speak again Lucius or I won't let you torture the mudblood," Voldemort warned.

Lily could hear them speaking, but she couldn't open her eyes, let alone move. Her head throbbed and it felt like it was about to split open.

"Rodolphus, try and be of some use and round up our two love birds so we can take them somewhere a bit more secluded," Voldemort ordered.

"Enervate," Rodolphus said, and suddenly both Lily and James were awake.

Rodolphus kicked James in the head and promised he would kill Lily in front of him if he tried anything stupid. He confiscated both of their wands before he wrapped ropes around their wrists. He returned to his Master and handed him the wands, hoping for praise.

"Adequate job Rodulphus," Voldemort said mildly.

Lily and James were standing next to each other vigorously trying to remove themselves from the ropes so they could have a better chance at fighting back. They looked over at each other every once in while, to see if either of them had come up with a brilliant plan for escape. Lily sorted through her memory, trying to remember what had worked in the past.

"Little Ealing?" she whispered quietly, referring to a time they had been outnumbered 12 to two in the small town.

"A little difficult to pull off without any large boulders around," James whispered back.

Lily just nodded her head. They didn't have much time and were going to have to think of something quick. The Death Eaters and Voldemort approached them and shouted at them to start walking toward a wooded area over the hill from where they were standing. As they started to walk, James began fidgeting furiously with something in his pocket. Immediately, Lily knew what he was doing. Suddenly he turned and looked at her.

"Run," he hissed.

She looked at him in disbelief. She wasn't going to leave him alone. She just shook her head.

"I'm not kidding Lily get the hell out of here," James pressed.

"No, I'm not running," Lily replied resolutely.

James had to get her out of here. He was about to do something extremely stupid and dangerous and he couldn't have her around in case something happened.

"Please Lily, just listen to me," James tried again.

She just shook her head.

"I'm not leaving," Lily said as she shook her head

With that, she whipped around to face Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

"I've had about enough of this," she shouted.

What happened next could only be described as unbelievable. Without using her wand, Lily created a protective force field around herself and James and then reached in her pocket, where she pulled out a spare wand she had been hiding. She shot jets of green light at Voldemort, Lucius, and Rodolphus. They were all struck down to the ground, even Voldemort.

Then she looked at James who was staring at her in disbelief.

"Now we can run," she said.

And they took off as fast as they could.

"I'll ask how you did that later," James said as they sprinted towards the trees.

Lily just smiled. They were almost to the forest, when Lily felt a hot searing pain in her back. She screamed for James and then dropped to the ground. James turned around to make sure she was still with him and she wasn't. He saw her collapse and then he saw Voldemort come over the top of the hill.


	8. Chapter 8

Lily's screams penetrated James' ears and he lost all sense. He sprinted blindly to where she had fallen and pleaded with his legs to move faster.

"Crucio," he heard a raspy voice scream, and Lily cried out again in pain.

"Stop it," James yelled.

Voldemort saw James come over the top of the hill that had separated them and suddenly a whip of fire emerged from his wand and he swung it at James. With lightening quick reflexes, James dove out of the way, sending an array of spells in Voldemort's direction.

"You'll have to do better than that boy," Voldemort cackled.

Immediately, head stones from the grave sites were uprooted from the ground and began flying towards James. He sprinted through the moving minefield that Voldemort had created, destroying as many obstacles as possible. Sharp broken shards of rock continued to fly at him and one cut him deeply in the shoulder. James cried out in pain, but he would not be stopped. Finally, with a flick of his wand, the stones turned to nothing more than dust. Voldemort shouted in outrage.

"Enough of this, I'm going to kill her and you will watch, then I will kill you," Voldemort said, seemingly pleased with his idea.

He pointed his wand directly at Lily's chest, who seemed to have lost consciousness. An evil grin appeared on his thin twisted lips. James' heart beat in his throat. Lily was everything to him. He'd do anything to protect her. 

"Don't touch my wife," James bellowed.

Suddenly the lake next to them drained and the water rose up to form a giant wave. With a flourish of his hands, James sent it rushing towards Voldemort. James didn't have much time before Voldemort and Lily would be washed away. Even if he ran, he wasn't sure he could get there in time, but he had to try. 

"Accio broom," he shouted. 

The broom raced over the hill top, James grabbed it, jumped on and flew as fast as he could. Voldemort watched as the water collapsed on him. James dove down the hillside, and reached Lily as the wave was about to break. He grabbed her limp body and pulled her to him. As quickly as possible he immediately shot upwards as the wave crashed and Voldemort apparated away. Not wanting to be seen or followed by death eaters, James immediately put his invisibility cloak over himself and Lily and began to steer the broom towards St. Mungo's. Lily's pulse was faint, but detectable which told James he didn't have much time. He held Lily tightly to him as he soared over London and preyed she would survive.

James landed at the visitors entrance of St. Mungo's and immediately shed his cape. Lily laid limply in his arms and her complexion had paled. Suddenly, she began to convulse. He held her tightly, trying to make it stop.

"Please don't do this to me," he pleaded.

When she had stopped shaking, he immediately stood up and sprinted towards the entrance hall of St. Mungo's.

"Help," James shouted. "Someone please help me."

He ran passed the check-in counter as a young witch screamed for him to come back and sign in. He didn't have time to waste. He had to get up to the fourth floor. When he arrived, he continued shouting.

"Get Katie Lupin," he roared at a young healer in training.

The young woman was so frightened that she jumped out of her seat and sprinted down the ward to find the person James was looking for. She flung open a door to a patient's room, where Katie was taking the vital signs of an elderly wizard who was suffering from dragon burns.

"Ms. Lupin, there is man outside screaming for you," the young witch said.

Katie looked at her, annoyed that she had been interrupted.

"Tell him to wait," Katie replied curtly.

The young witch did not want to go back to the screaming lunatic without the person he was looking for, so she decided to press her case further.

"He's holding an unconscious woman in his arms," she said.

Katie chastised the girl for not saying something earlier and dropped her clip board and sprinted out of the room. As she ran down the hallway, her heart started to pound in her chest. She took in the sight of James clutching a barely alive Lily for only a second, and then immediately sprang into action.

"What happened?" she asked as she showed James where he could lay Lily down.

He didn't want to let go of her, but Katie forced him to, saying that she couldn't do her job if he was wrapped around the patient.

"Voldemort," was all he could manage to get out.

Katie's eyes widened in horror. Patients who were attacked by Voldemort himself usually didn't survive long, if they did at all.

"What curse did he use?" Katie said, trying to remain calm, because it was obvious that James had lost it.

James just shook his head and squeezed Lily's cold clammy hand. Her cheeks were pale and her breathing was light.

"I don't know," James said quietly as he brushed a strand of hair out of Lily's face.

Katie used a simple charm to run a few baseline tests to better understand what had happened, but what she really needed to know was what curse Lily had been hit with.

"Think James. Lily's life depends on it," Katie said, hoping that her bluntness would shock him into action.

"I heard him use the Cruciatus Curse," James stammered.

He felt so helpless watching Lily lie on the cold table as Katie examined her. Suddenly the shaking started again, and Lily screamed out in pain. Her whole body convulsed violently.

"Do something, make it stop," James pleaded.

Katie was using every spell she knew to save her friend, but nothing seemed to be working.

"This isn't a common reaction to the Cruciatus Curse. Do you remember anything else that happened," Katie pressed, as Lily continued screaming.

James couldn't think with Lily screaming. He couldn't concentrate on what Katie was asking him to do. He wanted to burst with frustration and anguish.

"James," Katie pressed.

"I don't bloody know. You are the healer. Stop asking me questions and help her. You have to save her," James roared.

Other healers had appeared in the room and pushed James away from Lily so they could look at her. The shaking had stopped and now she lay perfectly still and quiet. James hated the quiet more than the screaming. At least when she screamed, he knew she was alive. He watched as they performed tests and whispered amongst themselves, shaking their heads in concern. Finally James had enough. Tears started to slide down his face. If Lily didn't make it and he never got the chance to tell her how he felt, he would never forgive himself. She had to live.

"Stop staring at her and save her you God Damn It," James swore.

Katie adeptly came to his side and put a hand on his arm.

"James we are doing everything we can," she said soothingly. "We need time, you have to give us that. Please, just wait in the waiting room and I'll come find you as soon as I know something."

With a flick of her wand, she performed a calming spell and James seemed slightly more agreeable. He just nodded his head and left the room. He found a small quiet corner of the hospital wing and allowed himself to sit for a minute. All the adrenaline that had kept him moving, now seemed to be leaving his body. He buried his head in his hands as he let everything set in. He'd lost almost everything and if he lost Lily, he didn't know if he'd be able to hold on. He needed her to be alright. Fatigue set in and his muscles began to ache. His body craved sleep, but he couldn't allow himself that. He had to stay awake in case news of Lily came. So he just sat there, feeling out of control and hopeless.

He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting on the floor when Sirius found him. His best friend took a seat next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. They didn't speak, but it wasn't necessary. Nothing Sirius could say would make James feel better until he knew that Lily was going to be okay. All he could do was keep him company. They were soon joined by Remus. James looked up at him, hoping he had some news. He hoped that maybe Katie had told him something of Lily's condition. Remus just shook his head.

"It's too early mate," was all Remus said.

He took a seat on the other side of James and the three best friends just waited together, hoping that time would bring good news.

After a week of not hearing from his fiancé, Jack became worried and decided to surprise her with a visit. First he'd tried the hotel she said she was staying at, but there was no record of her having a room there. He knew she had some family, so he'd contacted Petunia and that had been a mistake. She said she hadn't heard from Lily in years and she preferred it that way. In the end he remembered Lily had once told him about a friend of hers, Gabriella Pryce, so he decided to give her a ring. He was dismayed to learn she didn't have a listed number so he was forced to just knock on her door. When he did, his world was suddenly flipped upside down.

"Oye, I'm on my way out," Gabby had said when she answered the door.

Jack was slightly taken a back by the rudeness in her tone.

"Sorry, this will only take a minute, I'm looking for Lily Evans," Jack said.

The American accent immediately gave away who he was.

"Jack?" Gabby asked.

Jack just nodded his head, grateful that he had found some lead that could take him to Lily.

"Yeah, that's me," Jack said excitedly.

"You better come with me," was all Gabby could say.

She closed the door to her apartment and started to head down the stairs to the street. When she realized Jack wasn't following her, she turned around and looked at him with some annoyance.

"Sorry, but where are we going?" Jack asked.

"St. Mungo's" Gabby replied.

Jack's confusion deepened.

"St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries" Gabby clarified.

However, this didn't help Jack at all. All he had heard was "hospital" and "magical"

"Are you pulling my leg?" Jack asked, starting to think an elaborate practical joke was being played on him.

Gabby rolled her eyes. She was dealing with a very mugglish muggle and she was starting to get the feeling that this particular muggle had no idea he was engaged to a witch.

"No, that's where Lily is," Gabby replied.

Suddenly, Jack's expression turned serious. If Lily was in the hospital, even if it had a ridiculous name, he had to get to her.

"Is Lily hurt?" Jack asked as he struggled to keep pace with Gabby.

They were on the tube now, taking the Picadilly line to this supposed magical hospital.

"Yes, she was attacked by Lord Voldemort," Gabby replied.

Jack's head began to spin and he was at a slight loss for words. This was one of the strangest experiences he had ever had.

"Let me get this straight. My fiancé was attacked by some English Lord and now she is in some 'magical' hospital?" Jack asked. "Has everyone gone insane? Where is Lily?"

Gabby was annoyed at the scene he was creating on the train and immediately put a silencing charm on him. When Jack realized he couldn't talk and the girl he was sitting with had a wand, his eyes grew very wide.

"Ok, I'll explain, but you have to remain calm," Gabby said. "Lily is a witch and she was attacked by a dark wizard who has pretty much been in the business of murder and mayhem for about a decade now."

Jack tried to absorb this, but everything in his body told him that what she was saying was rubbish. He'd dated Lily for two years now and had never seen her do anything magical. And the idea that there was some sort of dark wizard on the loose didn't appeal to him either. After he'd had some time to digest the information he had just been given, Gabby took the silencing charm off.

"I see Lily forgot to mention that little piece of information when she agreed to marry you," Gabby said, somewhat annoyed that she was the one who had to tell the muggle his fiancé wasn't who he thought she was.

"Ok so suppose Lily is a witch, why would Lord Whatshisname be after her?" Jack asked, trying to make some sense of what he was hearing.

"Lily's parents were muggles, sorry non-magical, and Lord Voldemort takes exception to witches and wizards who aren't from old wizarding families, those he considers pure bloods," Gabby tried to explain, although she felt like she was talking to a two year old. "Plus Lily is talented and takes particular pleasure in thwarting his plans."

Jack stared at the map of the London Underground, realizing that everything he had ever known about Lily was a lie.

"So my fiancé is a witch and in her spare time she likes to pick fights with dark wizards?" Jack asked.

"Well actually I'd say that Voldemort picks fights with her, but yeah that's the gist of it," Gabby said.

She stood up and got off the train and Jack ran to catch up with her. They walked the rest of the way in silence and when they entered St. Mungo's, a building that looked like a falling down shack to Jack, he started to realize that maybe everything Gabby told him was actually true. At first he thought he was dreaming when he entered the hospital. Witches and wizards dressed in strange clothes roamed the hallways and Jack saw quite a few interesting injuries from a little child hiccupping frogs to a man who had managed to grow an extra head. However, the more he saw, the more real it became.

"Come on, Lily's on the third floor," Gabby said.

When they reached the level they wanted, they exited the elevator and Gabby showed him to the waiting room. Inside sat Remus, Katie, Sirius, and in the corner, James was leaning up against a wall, brooding darkly.

"Everyone, this is Jack, Lily's fiancé, Jack this is everyone," Gabby announced.

All sets of eyes immediately looked at Jack and then looked at James for a reaction. He stiffened slightly, but was too preoccupied with Lily to really make a scene.

"Hi, I'm James Potter," James said as he extended his hand.

Jack shook it.

"It's nice to finally meet Lily's friends," Jack said.

After everyone introduced themselves, Katie offered to take Jack to see Lily.

"I have to warn you, she looks a little banged up," Katie prefaced before she opened the door to Lily's room.

The door opened, but Jack didn't enter immediately. Instead he hung back.

"Is she going to be ok?" he asked in a shaky voice.

Katie put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but she knew there wasn't an easy answer to this question.

"That's up to Lily. We've done everything we can for her and she'll come back to us when she's ready," Katie said, trying to be upbeat.

Jack let out a sigh and then walked into the room. The curtains were closed so it was dark, but he could make out Lily's small body lying in the bed in front of him. Her face was slightly swollen and her skin was paled, but she still looked beautiful to him. He took a seat next to her and held her hand in his. Suddenly, everything that she had hidden from him didn't matter anymore. He just wanted her to wake up.

"I'll leave you alone," Katie said and then she shut the door and walked back to the waiting room.

Everyone was hovered around James, who was looking extremely annoyed. He'd barely left Lily's bedside for a week, he hadn't showered, he looked exhausted, and his hair was unruly.

"What do you want me to do Sirius, the man is her bloody fiancé," James finally erupted after Sirius asked him why he hadn't hexed Jack back to America.

"You could have stood up for yourself and told him who you were," Sirius remarked.

James stood up with a look of outrage on his face.

"Exactly, that's who I was, and it's in the past, what's the difference if I tell the poor bloke I used to be married to his fiancé," James roared.

"I don't know, maybe because you are still in love with her," Sirius replied sharply.

James suddenly appeared deflated. He took a seat and put his head in his hands. Everything he had ever wanted was lying in a hospital bed clinging to life as her fiancé watched over her. It should have been him in that room, he thought. Instead some muggle American with neat hair and placid blue eyes was with Lily, his Lily.

Sirius walked over to his best friend and put an arm around his shoulder.

"She's going to be alright mate, you saved her life," Sirius offered.

"Actually, she saved mine," James said, and then he got up and walked out of the waiting room. "I'm going for a walk."

His friends watched him walk away. Gabby and Sirius looked at each other and frowned slightly.

"We've got to do something, Lily can't marry the American," Sirius grouched.

"What can we do? Lock them in a broom closet like we did at Hogwarts? We aren't sixteen anymore Sirius, we can't force them to do anything that isn't really in their hearts," Gabby replied.

"This is Lily and James we are talking about here, they love each other, they are just being stubborn. Good thing they have a friend like me to make sure things work out," Sirius said.

"Yeah well why don't you hold off on your cupid efforts until Lily actually wakes up," Gabby suggested.

James wandered the streets of London with no particular destination in mind. He knew it probably wasn't safe for him to be by himself when he knew that Voldemort had a personal grudge against him, but he just needed to clear his head. All of his emotions seemed to be piling up and slowly crushing him. Up until today, he hadn't really accepted the fact that Lily was engaged to someone else. But now it seemed that he was truly going to lose her. All he could do now was hope that she would wake up. The image of her being struck to the ground by Voldemort haunted him. He wondered if she would be better off with Jack, where she could be guaranteed a safe and content life. James realized he couldn't provide that for her. There would always be a battle to fight and a dangerous mission to go on. He couldn't ask Lily to put herself in danger for him. She deserved to be happy, and at the moment he doubted that he was the man that could make her so.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and pulled up the collar of his coat to block out the wind that was lashing at his face. He wanted to scream and yell with frustration, but he knew there was no point. In the end, although he would always love Lily, he couldn't ask her to risk everything for him. So if she woke up, he'd step aside, sign the divorce papers and let Lily move on.

When he returned to the hospital, everyone was gone, except for Jack, who was sitting in the waiting room while Katie was performing a few tests on Lily. James took across from him. Jack started to talk first.

"So how do you and Lily know each other?" Jack asked.

James looked slightly uncomfortable, but he didn't want to be rude.

"We went to Hogwarts together," James replied, not wanting to divulge too much.

Jack, who was new to the magical world, looked at James for an explanation.

"Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry," James elaborated. "It's where young witches and wizards learn to practice magic."

Jack was fascinated. This was something out of a story book. He wanted to ask James to perform a bit of magic for him, but he didn't want to appear childish.

"At this school, do you take classes, how does it work?" Jack pressed.

James launched in to an explanation of the wizarding world. He told Jack about the classes he took, how his world had its own government, he even explained that there were witches and wizards in every country of the world. It was when they were talking animatedly about quidditch, James' favorite subject, that Kate walked into the room. She had a grave expression on her face and immediately James sobered.

"I'm afraid Lily's condition has worsened and if we don't do something immediately we could lose her. I need your permission to try something a bit radical," Kate said, looking at James.

Jack didn't notice this and immediately spoke up.

"What would you do?" he asked.

"She has extensive internal bleeding and in order to stop it, I need to give her an infusion of Unicorn's Blood," Kate said.

Jack looked confused.

"If you think it'll help her, then do it," Jack replied.

"It's a somewhat risky procedure so I need someone who is next of kin to sign a waiver," Kate replied.

James turned his head. Using Unicorn's Blood was a last resort and something only done when a patient was clinging to life.

"I'll sign the waiver," Jack offered.

Kate looked at James, waiting for him to speak, but realized he wasn't going to.

"I'm sorry, but you aren't her next of kin Jack," Kate replied.

She then turned her gaze back on James and pleaded with him.

"James I know the risks, but it's the only way. I'll do everything I can to save her. Please just sign," Kate asked.

At this point Jack turned to James and was more confused them ever.

"Him?" he asked to Katie.

"I'll do it," James said reluctantly.

Katie handed him a quill and piece of parchment and he signed it.

"You're doing the right thing James," Katie said as she took the parchment back from him.

James didn't look at Jack, who was slightly dumbstruck at this new revelation.

"Sorry, but how are you and Lily related?" Jack asked.

James stared at the sitting, but Jack continued to stare back at him. Finally he spoke.

"We're married," James said quietly.

After hearing this Jack took a seat. He didn't think he could take anymore surprises. James watched him digest the information that his fiancé wasn't exactly legally single, and he had to admit that his heart went out to the guy.

"Look, it's not what you think. We've been separated for seven years and she only came back here to hand me divorce papers, but with everything that's happened, there just hasn't been time. The fact that we are still married is just a technicality," James promised.

However, this didn't seem to console Jack.

"You let me sit here thinking you were just her friend," Jack said. "I feel so stupid."

"I'm sorry, I just didn't think it was important," James said, trying to defend himself.

"I'd say it's pretty damn important that my fiancé is still married to another man. The witch thing I can get used to, I can even deal with the fact that some dark wizard has it out for her, but this is asking a lot of me," Jack ranted.

He was now pacing up and down the waiting room, looking extremely agitated. James was starting to get slightly annoyed. On the list of things to worry about, a slight technicality of Lily still being married had to be an easier pill to swallow then her being a witch who was being hunted by Voldemort. Muggles were funny, he thought.

"Look mate, she loves you, she's going to marry you, so stop wigging out," James said.

Jack walked up to him and towered over James, who immediately stood up, not liking the fact that the American was clearly trying to intimate him.

"Just answer me one question: do you still love her?" Jack asked. "Because if you do we have a problem."

James had to laugh.

"Does it really matter," James replied flippantly and then took a seat.

Jack didn't appreciate being laughed at, especially when it was his fiancé's husband who was doing the laughing. He wasn't finding anything humorous about the situation. So he approached James again, with one last thing to get off his chest.

"I love Lily and we are getting married, so by the time she wakes up, you better have signed the papers and this better be over with," Jack warned.

Suddenly James stopped laughing. If there was one thing that defined James Potter's life, it was that he hated being told what to do. He was using every ounce of control he had not to blast the cocky American back to the United States. Instead, he tried a little intimidation of his own. He took out his wand, because he knew muggles hated it when he did that, and glared down at the man.

"No offense mate, but if I wanted to keep you from marrying Lily, there isn't a thing you could do to stop me," James said, and then he decided it was time to go home and take a shower.

Lily's head felt as if it was full of sand. It was heavy and she couldn't lift it. She wanted to open here eyes, but every time she tried she felt a searing pain. It was very frustrating. Finally her eyes managed to flutter open, but everything was blurry. All she could make out was a vague outline of someone sitting in a chair next to her bed.

"James?" she croaked, and reached her hand out to touch him.

It wasn't James' hand however. It was smaller and not as rough to the touch. She quickly realized who it belonged to.

"It's Jack, Lils," a voice said.

Lily's eyes began to focus and in front of her was her sandy haired blue eyed fiancé. He looked tired and somewhat confused. Suddenly, she realized that she was lying in St. Mungo's with her muggle boyfriend by her side after being attacked by Lord Voldemort, and she began to sob and she didn't stop.

"Is James ok?" Lily asked between sobs.

"He's fine," Jack said as he did his best to comfort her, but her entire world was foreign to him.


End file.
